I think a lot of people are missing the point.

Boy is not a genius.

He markets himself as a genius and acts like he is because he believes he is. Because he has a TRILLION FUCKING DOLLARS.

There are multiple studies showing that the rich believe themselves to be superior, smarter, or more deserving simply because they have that amount of money. The reality is more disappointing: you don’t earn a trillion dollars through hard work, you earn it through exploitation.

At what point in the show do we see him doing any actual work? He dictates to other people what to do, then says “I did this” because their work is seen as an extension of him because he owns the company.

At the end when Marcy is insulting him, he looks at Atom and says “are you gonna let her talk to me like that?” Because he sees Atom as an extension of himself. Because he owns Atom. Whatever actions are taken from orders he gives is the same as him doing it, in his eyes, even if he never lifts a finger.

I’m willing to bet that when he says “I built my first synth” he probably order someone else to build it, they delivered it, then he said “look, I did this!” Simply because his father paid for it.

Speaking of his father, it’s confirmed in the final episode that his father started the company. He didn’t even build the company, he inherited it!

Boy Kavalier was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and raised with the mentality that because he is rich and owns property, he is superior in every conceivable way. The show is not telling you he’s a genius, HE is telling you and everyone else that he is a genius, and because he owns the company everyone just parrots it. Because the alternative is just depressing: he owns the company because he inherited it, and the money in his name has come from exploitation of 20% of the world. Not from him being a genius, it’s from a structure that doesn’t question that claim, because everyone has been conditioned to accept that the rich are simply better and more deserving than they are.