To me, totally unqualified to judge anyone's mental stability -- including my own -- Musk brings to mind the term "idiot savant." He obviously did not get rich by being stupid, but the performance of his DOGE henchmen in Washington could have been scripted by Gilbert & Sullivan, if it had not caused so much useless disruption.
O'Leary, on the other hand, is a classically educated man with an initial business background in accounting, who saw early on the potential offered by European airline deregulation -- and acted on it, at scale. He is also a self-taught genius at playing the UK tabloid press like a violin quartet, throwing out red meat like charging for use of the loo, stand-up seating and other goofiness, all of which generates copy. Disclosure: Back in the day when I was writing for Avmark Aviation Economist, I interviewed O'Leary several times, and always found him both engaging as a personality and always ready to discuss serious questions with absolute granularity. The package has deservidely made him one of the richest, if not number one, in Ireland. My money is on the absence of inflight cutting-edge entertainment having zero impact on Ryanair's pax volume, because the punters know from the outset that they are buying a cheap, if cheerless, flight from A to B and back again. Daniel Solon No Luddite -- I have been called much worse -- but ready to fall back on primitive inflight entertainment like newspapers and magazines On Mon, Jan 19, 2026 at 11:29 PM srbrown--- via Mifnet < [email protected]> wrote: > I wish I'd been born as big an idiot as either of those two. > > Simon > ------------------------------ > *From:* Jack Keady via Mifnet <[email protected]> > *Sent:* 17 January 2026 22:10 > *To:* David Wardell via Mifnet <[email protected]> > *Cc:* Jack Keady <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [Mifnet 🛰 75157] rich and richer argue > > keady - maybe Mr. Borfitz can talk to the figures > > > ‘He’s an idiot’: Musk and Ryanair’s O’Leary trade insults in Starlink > Wi-Fi row > > What began as a disagreement over airline internet has turned into a > full-blown war of words. > > - Copy Link > > <https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-ryanair-chief-michael-oleary-trade-insults-starlink-spat-war-wi-fi-row/> > - > > <?body=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.eu%2Farticle%2Felon-musk-ryanair-chief-michael-oleary-trade-insults-starlink-spat-war-wi-fi-row%2F&subject=%E2%80%98He%E2%80%99s%20an%20idiot%E2%80%99%3A%20Musk%20and%20Ryanair%E2%80%99s%20O%E2%80%99Leary%20trade%20insults%20in%20Starlink%20Wi-Fi%20row> > - > > <https://x.com/intent/post/?url=https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-ryanair-chief-michael-oleary-trade-insults-starlink-spat-war-wi-fi-row/&text=%E2%80%98He%E2%80%99s%20an%20idiot%E2%80%99%3A%20Musk%20and%20Ryanair%E2%80%99s%20O%E2%80%99Leary%20trade%20insults%20in%20Starlink%20Wi-Fi%20row> > - > > <https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=%E2%80%98He%E2%80%99s%20an%20idiot%E2%80%99%3A%20Musk%20and%20Ryanair%E2%80%99s%20O%E2%80%99Leary%20trade%20insults%20in%20Starlink%20Wi-Fi%20row%20https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-ryanair-chief-michael-oleary-trade-insults-starlink-spat-war-wi-fi-row/> > - > > <https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-ryanair-chief-michael-oleary-trade-insults-starlink-spat-war-wi-fi-row/&title=%E2%80%98He%E2%80%99s%20an%20idiot%E2%80%99%3A%20Musk%20and%20Ryanair%E2%80%99s%20O%E2%80%99Leary%20trade%20insults%20in%20Starlink%20Wi-Fi%20row&summary=%E2%80%98He%E2%80%99s%20an%20idiot%E2%80%99%3A%20Musk%20and%20Ryanair%E2%80%99s%20O%E2%80%99Leary%20trade%20insults%20in%20Starlink%20Wi-Fi%20row&source=https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-ryanair-chief-michael-oleary-trade-insults-starlink-spat-war-wi-fi-row/> > > Free article usually reserved for subscribers > <https://www.politico.eu/pro/elon-musk-ryanair-chief-michael-oleary-trade-insults-starlink-spat-war-wi-fi-row/> > [image: BELGIUM-AVIATION-TRANSPORT-ECONOMY-RYANAIR] > “He’s an idiot — very wealthy, but still an idiot,” O'Leary said. He also > described Musk’s social media platform X as a “cesspit.” | Simon Wohlfahrt > / AFP via Getty Images > January 17, 2026 10:19 am CET > By Chris Lunday <https://www.politico.eu/author/chris-lunday/> > > A spat over in-flight Wi-Fi has spiralled into a public verbal brawl > between Elon Musk and Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, pitting one of the > world's richest men against Europe’s most outspoken airline boss. > > The clash burst into the open after O'Leary dismissed Musk and his > satellite internet business in a radio interview > <https://www.newstalk.com/news/michael-oleary-elon-musk-2225838> on > Ireland’s Newstalk. Responding to Musk calling him “misinformed” over > Ryanair’s refusal to install Starlink Wi-Fi, O’Leary told listeners he > would “pay no attention whatsoever to Elon Musk.” > > “He’s an idiot — very wealthy, but still an idiot,” O'Leary said. He also > described Musk’s social media platform X as a “cesspit.” > > Musk fired back on X <https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2012149807192981801>, > writing: “Ryanair CEO is an utter idiot. Fire him.” In a follow-up post, he > accused O’Leary of getting Starlink’s fuel-burn impact wrong “by a factor > of 10” and added: “Fire this imbecile.” > > Ryanair’s official X account also joined the fray, mocking Musk during a > reported outage <https://x.com/Ryanair/status/2012213546222833983> on his > platform, replying: “perhaps you need Wi-Fi @elonmusk?” > > Behind the insults lies a substantive dispute about costs and aircraft > performance. Ryanair has publicly ruled out installing Starlink across its > more than 600 Boeing 737s, arguing the external antennas would increase > drag and fuel consumption. > > O’Leary has said the technology would impose around a 2 percent fuel > penalty and could cost the airline hundreds of millions of dollars a year, > a trade-off he says makes little sense on short-haul flights where > passengers are unlikely to pay for connectivity. > > Musk disputes those figures, pointing to airlines already flying with > Starlink-equipped aircraft and arguing that fast internet will increasingly > shape passenger choice. > Related Tags > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Revised: 20250507 > > You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list. > > The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't > exactly cost-free. 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