It is true that I work with some Silicon Valley companies and as an entrepreneur, but I’m not particularly rich. It’s just that I decided that my skills or my time is valued enough so that people are willing to let me live, somewhat comfortably perhaps, in exchange of my time.
I still do consulting work. It’s not that I stopped working altogether. It’s just I only work on the things that are also of benefit to the civil society, that I can share my fruit of my labor with the public. It’s not like I stopped programming altogether, it’s just that I can be very, very picky about my clients, and I insist that they must share the fruit of labor with all other clients.
I’m happy to do pro-bono work for people in the civil society who needed the work, but without the money to pay for it. That is to say: If you have money, then you pay with money. If you don’t, you can pay with your time, your attention, or any kind of organization skills you have, or just your goodwill. That works too.