Can't you just give the information you are hinting at? Other people than OP read this. You basically tell me to go read thousands of messages on a mailing list just solve your rhetorical question. (answer: Intel, Redhat, Meta, Google, Suse, Arm and Oracle. There are much more efficient ways to find this.) Yes, they are the main kernel contributors and have been for many years. I'm still not sure I understand the comment.

I think GP answered as they did because there are so many examples it's hard to know where to start.

It's not entirely unlike if someone said "the only person I know writing books successfully is Brandon Sanderson." I do think "you ought to go check out your local book store" would be a valid response.

No, "just" having to debunk BS from a BSer who lazily threw out misinformation is not the way to go. It's the BSer that needs to do more work.

I'd say as a counterpoint that just because someone works at, say, Meta or Oracle, and also contributes to OSS projects, that doesn't equate to the company they work at funding upstream projects (at least not by itself).

I don't even have to link the xkcd comic because everyone already knows which one goes here.

Everyone I know who contributes to Linux upstream is paid to do it. It's not really worth the hassle to bother trying if you weren't getting paid. It's also very easy to find companies that will pay you to work on Linux and upstream.

People don't use their company email addresses for private work.

At GOOG you’re required to, by policy.

Linus does...

Well, if they use their work email, doesn't that mean their kernel work is endorsed by their employer?