Marc must know something about either policy or economy that plebs don't.

Just two months after the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, before vaccines were available, Benioff had already started calling for the Fed to cut interest rates. The Fed took action immediately. I don't think it was solely because of Benioff's words that they were so responsive, but rather that he had received early notice that the Fed was going to cut rates to 0. By coming out as an industry leader to "call for" rate cuts, it provided justification for the Fed to implement them. On September 15, 2023, the last day of Salesforce 2023 Dreamforce event, Marc Benioff start rehiring employees that were just laid off? "It's okay. Come back!" So he must already know something about the economy and is scooping up talent before other companies realize things have changed.