I definitely agree with you, but I also like a term from the article: the founders were long-term greedy rather than short-term greedy. They were willing to give millions to their employees in exchange for what I can only assume to be life-long loyalty and an unbeatable reputation. For someone who wants to stay in the industry for the next 10-20 years and found more companies, that could very well end up being worth far more than the money given up in the deal to employees.