I know several people involved here, some of them very well, some of them being people I tried hard to pull out of Alex's orbit (because they are awesome, not because Alex isn't), and, respectfully: I think you're full of shit.

Especially amused by the attempted "read-something-on-HN" snark. Yeah, that's where all the high-profile elite security people are these days. Hanging out on HN with me.

Sour Grapes much? Despite having worked in his general vicinity 15 years ago (when he was already recognized as a leader in issues security related, mostly at the tactical "how do I determine if there is a rootkit on this server" level) - I'll admit to being completely incapable of judging his expertise. But, the smartest people I know who are capable of judging Alex, say that he is the real thing. Super insightful, and, has that ability to understand where the "puck is going" rather than constantly being reactive to the issue du jour. He also has a reputation for being generous with his time, and giving advice/guidance to people who need it.

I'm sure they did pay more. But Alex Stamos is not the kind of person to take a job for the money. If Chase Bank offered him double what Facebook is paying, there's no chance he would take money over the opportunity to work on industry changing projects at Facebook.