There was a time when StackOverflow already had considerable size and it still felt as if Jeff knew and moderated every single post.
This is what made StackOverflow in my opinion. The excellent moderation in the beginning resulted in excellent quality.
Now, not taking away from the other early moderators, Jeff was definitely a huge part of it and one thing is for sure: He busted his ass off for this site and he deserves the reward.
I don't think anyone deserves 1.8bln reward. Norman Borlaug perhaps. But good for Jeff. I think SO was immensly societally and economically valuable and most people who actually got 1.8bln are less deserving than Jeff is.
This is what made StackOverflow in my opinion. The excellent moderation in the beginning resulted in excellent quality.
Now, not taking away from the other early moderators, Jeff was definitely a huge part of it and one thing is for sure: He busted his ass off for this site and he deserves the reward.