Is anybody actually making money on Linux?

From a column at LinuxPlanet: “On the ride to Washington for Thanksgiving, my wife and I were amused by the fact that my company
(which comprises: me) has actually made money from Linux. I write books about it, the occasional
article, this column. These things cost me less to do than I am paid to do them. Ergo, I make money
from Linux.

Which caused me to wonder if maybe I’m turning more profit from Linux than is, say, Red Hat Software,
which, when it posts earnings next month, is expected to lose 2 cents per share, according to the
analysts …

I ended up with no evidence that any of the Linux companies that are publicly traded is turning a
nickel’s profit. The non-public companies I’ve talked with are facing hard times as well. One or two are
just about out of money, with not much coming in. There may be some others — companies that resell
books and T-shirts and distributions at discount — who are doing okay.” (VA Linux, mentioned in the article, owns NewsForge.)