meaning of "nice" and "nice guys"

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5. “You don’t get rich by being nice.”
John D. Rockefeller threatened rivals with bankruptcy if they didn’t sell out to his company, Standard Oil. Bill Gates was ruthless in building Microsoft into the world’s largest software firm (remember Netscape?). Indeed, many millionaires privately admit they’re “bastards in business,” says Prince. “They aren’t nice guys.” Of course, the wealthy don’t exactly look in the mirror and see Gordon Gekko either.

Can you help me fix the meaning of "nice" and "nice guys" in the above context by giving a synonym or the nearest synonym?

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Being 'nice' implies that you are considerate of others' feelings, stepping to the side, letting others go first. Some rich people are not nice in their business dealings; they sometimes have had to be ruthless to get where they are. This may mean how they act in the business world, not in their personal life.

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@sullyfish6,

A nice person, or a nice guy, is considerate, thoughtful, kind, decent, ethical, honest. A nice person is not selfish, inconsiderate, dishonest, mean, or nasty.

Many millionaires succeed in business by not being nice--they may be inconsiderate, or dishonest, or untrustworthy, or selfish.

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@firefly,

Quote:

nice (n s)
adj. nic•er, nic•est
1. Pleasing and agreeable in nature: had a nice time.
2. Having a pleasant or attractive appearance: a nice dress; a nice face.
3. Exhibiting courtesy and politeness: a nice gesture.
4. Of good character and reputation; respectable.
5. Overdelicate or fastidious; fussy.
6. Showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle: a nice distinction; a nice sense of style.
7. Done with delicacy and skill: a nice bit of craft.
8. Used as an intensive with and: nice and warm.
9. Obsolete
a. Wanton; profligate: "For when mine hours/Were nice and lucky, men did ransom lives/Of me for jests" (Shakespeare).
b. Affectedly modest; coy: "Ere . . . /The nice Morn on th' Indian steep,/From her cabin'd loop-hole peep" (John Milton).
________________________________________
[Middle English, foolish, from Old French, from Latin nescius, ignorant, from nesc re, to be ignorant; see nescience.]

The above is the senses of the adj NICE from an on-line dictionary. Which sense do you think best fits the context?

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@fansy,

probably #4

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@fansy,

1 also works just fine

Someone that is driven to succeed may not be agreeable in nature because he expects a lot of others and can get upset if they don't meet expectations.

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meaning of "nice" and "nice guys"

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