How can someone so successful be so naïve? The statement, "impossible to earn a billion dollars," is not meant to be taken literally.
It is used to underscore the fact that founders (and early investors) are paid ridiculously disproportionately to their employees. There is no labor that a single person can do (without the help of their employees, family, friends, network) that justifies earning $1B.
He is just being willfully obtuse to make a point. This has to be one of his weaker essays. He is trying to "gotcha" AOC by talking math instead of debating the larger point. The kind of thing he has himself argued against in the past.
It is used to underscore the fact that founders (and early investors) are paid ridiculously disproportionately to their employees. There is no labor that a single person can do (without the help of their employees, family, friends, network) that justifies earning $1B.