Loubser De Villiers

CA(SA). Banker .Bookworm. Liefdewen. proudlysouthafrican

[NoLimit @NoLimitGains]

It blows my mind how many people are complaining that Elon became the first trillionaire.

First, most of it is paper wealth tied to equity in his companies. He could not turn it into real cash without dumping shares, which would crash the price and shrink his net worth massively.

“But he can borrow against his shares.” Sure he can. That does not make him richer. A loan still has to be paid back, the shares stay pledged as collateral the entire time, and if the price drops he gets margin called. He’s just leveraging paper.

You would be much richer holding $1 million in cash than owning 25% of a company worth $4 million, even though both equal $1 million on paper.

Second, come on. He actually changed the world. A lot of these people complaining drive electric cars because they care about emissions. Those cars would not be mainstream if Elon had not built Tesla. Millions of people in rural and remote areas have internet because of Starlink. SpaceX is the only reason NASA is not still paying Russia to send astronauts to the ISS.

You can hate the man. You can hate his politics. But pretending he is not one of the most consequential entrepreneurs of our lifetime is just dishonest.

[Liverpool FC @LFC]

An incredible nine years from our Egyptian King 👑

[Liverpool FC @LFC]

The end of an incredible journey with the Reds 👏❤️

[World of Statistics @stats_feed]

Big news from Australia 🇦🇺

A new study tracked 15 companies that switched to a 4-day work week (100% pay, 80% hours, 100% output).

Results?

• 14 out of 15 companies decided to keep it permanently
• Zero reported a drop in productivity
• 6 companies actually saw productivity increase

Less burnout, same (or better) output.

The 4-day week is no longer just a dream, the data backs it up.

[Blake Burge @blakeaburge]

Underrated life advice: Make yourself easy to root for. Be kind. Be reliable. Celebrate other people’s wins. Work hard without complaining. Carry good energy into rooms. You'll be shocked by how many doors open for you by making life better for others.

[Russ Petty @rpetty80]

URC difference in points, 2024/25 to 2025/26:

+19 Dragons
+15 Connacht
+14 Ulster, Lions
+8 Cardiff
+6 Glasgow
+5 Stormers
+4 Munster

-1 Ospreys
-9 Bulls
-11 Edinburgh
-13 Leinster, Benetton
-14 Zebre
-16 Sharks
-20 Scarlets

[SA Rugby magazine @SARugbymag]

The Cheetahs qualified for the Currie Cup Premier Division after Griquas missed a match-winning 84th-minute conversion. https://t.co/cbFcXPzJBs

[Kevin W. @Brink_Thinker]

Dude made an executive decision without questioning it

[Pieter-Albert Botha @PieterAlbertBot]

Hi @elonmusk and @grok , South African farmer here. I’ve developed a practical business plan that could make Earth carbon-negative while lifting millions out of poverty, but I need your help?
Grok + X could empower poor producers to make biochar. Grok designs simple machines, verifies via pics/videos, issues high-quality carbon credits, and pays them directly via X Pay. Big energy buys the credits. Please give it a thought 5 minute thought/read?
@elonmusk @xai @grok

[Joel Beall @JoelMBeall]

Jim Furyk accepting the 2027 Ryder Cup captaincy is the golf equivalent of that scene in an action movie when the grizzled ex-operative is sitting on his porch, finally at peace, when a black SUV rolls up the gravel drive. Furyk doesn't even turn around. "No." The suit gets out anyway. "It's Adare Manor. We're sending you in."

Furyk takes a pull from his beer. "I already did my tour. You know how that went," as he stares off into the distance, the camera cutting to a yellowed NYT newspaper with the infamous interview on his desk.

The suit slides a dossier across the railing. "Bethpage was a disaster. Morale is gone. Half the roster won't return our calls. You're the only one they'll follow into Ireland." You can see it in Furyk's eyes — the math of a man who knows this is almost certainly going to end badly, who remembers exactly how cold the Atlantic wind gets on foreign soil. He knows nobody else is walking through that door. He also knows this Hail Mary is the only thing that can free him from the past.

Furyk picks up the folder, seeing a photo of a smiling Luke Donald shopping for shampoo and a headline announcing Patrick Reed is back in form. Furyk goes to his shed, takes off the tarp from his captain golf cart. "One more thing," the suit says. "Bryson is thinking about being a full-time YouTuber."

Furyk laughs. "Good. For a second I was thinking this was going to be too easy."

[Bryson DeChambeau @brysondech]

Introducing my new caddie 🤝

[In A Nutshell🥜 @Markosonke1]

✈️ Dear @Fly_Airlink THIS IS DAYLIGHT ROBBERY😕😡 🚨

I’m writing this to publicly expose what I experienced with your airline, because this cannot be normal or acceptable.

I booked my flight 2 months in advance, everything paid, everything confirmed. I arrive at the airport thinking it’s a smooth check-in… only to be told there’s an "issue" with my name on your system apparently it only showed my initials and surname instead of my full names.

Now here’s the shocking part…
Instead of simply verifying my identity (which I had FULL proof of ID AND passport in hand), your staff decided the solution was to charge me R790 just to "edit" my name on your own system error.

Let that sink in…
👉 YOUR system error
👉 MY money

And I say that because I booked with my full names and your staff said maybe it's because my names are long..

I even escalated the matter to the supervisor on duty, expecting some level of professionalism or assistance… but instead, she showed zero willingness to help and proceeded to enforce this ridiculous charge like it’s normal practice.

How do you justify charging a customer R790 for something that and paying huge sums of rands to book my flights, something that

• Was NOT my fault
• Could be verified instantly with official documents
• Took literally seconds to fix

This is not customer service, this is exploitation, in fact u stealing from us.

We are already paying high ticket prices, and now we must budget extra for your internal mistakes too? 😭

I am formally demanding a full refund of R790 back into my account within 24 hours.

You cannot continue taking people’s hard-earned money under the guise of "policies" when the fault lies entirely with your own system.

If this is not resolved urgently, I will have no choice but to escalate this matter further through the relevant consumer protection channels and publicly pursue accountability.

Do the right thing. Also check your Emails because this same tweet is on your emails

Mxm���

[Michael A. Arouet @MichaelAArouet]

The implementation of free market and capitalism in Eastern Europe made them not only much wealthier, but also significantly improved life expectancy.

The only people in favor of socialism are those who have never experienced socialist misery by themselves. Don’t listen to them.

[HotSotin 🇫🇮🇺🇦🇪🇺△ @HotSotin]

Crazy idea: Let's split a country in socialist and capitalist halves and check in on them in 75 years.

[Abier @abierkhatib]

Trump’s “victory timeline” claims.

Mar 3: "We won the war."
Mar 7: "We defeated Iran."
Mar 9: "We must attack Iran."
Mar 9: "The war is ending almost completely, and very beautifully."
Mar 11: “You never like to say too ⁠early you won. We won. In ​the first hour it was over.” Mar 12: "We did win, but we haven't won completely yet."
Mar 13: "We won the war."
Mar 14: "Please help us."
Mar 15: "If you don't help us, I will certainly remember it."
Mar 16: "Actually, we don't need any help at all."
Mar 16: "I was just testing to see who's listening to me."
Mar 16: "If NATO doesn't help, they will suffer something very bad."
Mar 17: "We neither need nor want NATO's help."
Mar 17: "I don't need Congressional approval to withdraw from NATO."
Mar 18: "Our allies must cooperate in reopening the Strait of Hormuz."
Mar 19: "US allies need to get a grip - step up and help open the Strait of Hormuz."
Mar 20: "NATO are cowards."
Mar 21: "The Strait of Hormuz must be protected by the countries that use it. We don't use it, we don't need to open it."
Mar 22: "This is the last time. I will give Iran 48 hours. Open the strait"
Mar 22: "Iran is Dead"

Mar 23: "We had very good and productive talks with Iran."
Mar 24: "We’re making progress."
Mar 25: “They gave us a present and the present arrived today. And it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize.” Mar 26: "Make a deal, or we’ll just keep blowing them away."
Mar 27: "We don’t have to be there for NATO."
Mar 28: No major quote
Mar 29: Claimed talks were progressing
Mar 30: "Open the Strait of Hormuz immediately, or face devastating consequences."
Mar 31: Claimed a deal was "very close" and that Iran would "do the right thing"
Apr 1: "We’ll see what happens very soon."
Apr 2: Repeated that a deal was likely, while warning of continued strikes if not
Apr 3: "Something big is going to happen."
Apr 4: Said Iran must comply "immediately" or face further consequences.

Apr 5: "Open the fuckin' Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah."
😂

[The Biblical Man @Biblicalman]

Joseph of Arimathea pulled a corpse off a cross with his bare hands.

Blood under his fingernails. The weight of a dead man sagging into his arms.

He wrapped God in linen, pressed the fabric into wounds that were still wet.

Nicodemus brought seventy-five pounds of burial spice. A king's funeral for a man the world just murdered.

They carried Him into a hole in the rock and rolled the stone shut.

And everything you've ever done went in with Him.
Every night you can't sleep because of what you did. Every morning, you can't look in the mirror. The thing you did to her. The thing you did to them. The
lie you've been carrying so long it feels like bone.

The version of you that drinks alone and pretends tomorrow will be different.

That man was buried with Christ.

Stone sealed. Done.
Not managed. Not in therapy. Not on a payment plan with God where you slowly earn your way back. Buried. In a tomb. Under rock. Gone.
Three days of silence. Three days of a cold body in the dark.

Then the stone moved.
And when He walked out, the grave clothes were folded on the slab. He didn't stumble out tangled in death. He left it sitting there like a man who's done
with the clothes he used to wear.
Lazarus needed someone to unwrap him. Death still clung to him even after he was breathing.
Jesus folded His own burial linen and walked out clean.

That's the difference between religion and resurrection. Religion unwraps you slowly. Asks you to manage your sin. Attend the class. Read the book. Try harder next week.
Resurrection says the man who walked into that tomb is dead. The man who walked out doesn't know him.
You're not fixing the old you. The old you is in a sealed tomb in Jerusalem, and he's not coming back.
The man reading this, the one who thinks he's too far gone, you're not too far. You're already buried. The funeral happened two thousand years
ago.
Now get up. The stone's already moved. The linen's already folded.

Walk out.

[T 🇹🇹 @AlaskanTom]

Out drove Tiger Woods today .

[LIV Golf @livgolf_league]

The scenes on the 18th hole 😍

#LIVGolfSouthAfrica https://t.co/GDb0GGiy4w

[54 Golf @_54Golf]

This is Thursday. It’s the FIRST ROUND 😳

Take a bow LIV Golf South Africa! 🇿🇦

(@SouthernGuards / IG)

[Konstantin Kisin @KonstantinKisin]

The arguments about Iran are so polarised that no one wants to admit that several things are true at once:

You'd be a fool not to have serious reservations about the idea of a regime change war, especially in the Middle East.

You'd also be a fool to allow terrorist-funding lunatics to develop nuclear weapons.

Neither the people condemning these strikes, nor the people cheering them on know how this is going to work out.

So far, Trump Administration interventions have been extraordinarily successful in achieving valid objectives within a highly limited scope.

The strikes on Iran during the 12 day war achieved destruction of several nuclear facilities.

The Venezuela operation decapitated the hostile regime and replaced Maduro with a non-hostile leader.

Both also achieved significant "don't fuck with us" deterrence globally.

However, it is not remotely clear at this moment in time whether something similar can be achieved in Iran.

I understand and fully empathise with the people who think regime change is not going to work in Iran and you'll end up with the same as what you had or worse.

And I understand just as much the people who celebrate an evil dictator being killed and Iran's nuclear and military assets being degraded further.

The thing we do not know, and the thing that will determine whether this has all been worth it, is what the future leadership of Iran will look like. This seems to me to be the biggest risk Donald Trump has taken at any time in his first or second term. If it pays off, the reward both domestically and globally will be huge. If it doesn't and things go south, it could derail his Presidency and define his legacy like Iraq did for Blair and Bush.

Very few people have any idea which of these scenarios is more likely and one thing is for sure: none of them are talking about it on social media because they're all sitting in command bunkers, not on X.

I hope the people of Iran are released from living under tyranny. I hope the peoples of the Middle East can live in peace.
I hope the takeaway for any would-be terrorist is the realisation that October 7 might not have been such a good idea.
I hope that with the Middle East stabilised, the US can turn its attentions to the theatres that really matters to the security of the West: Russia and China.

Whether any of that happens remains to be seen and it seems the hardest thing for anyone to do is to not express an opinion before the smoke has cleared.