American geneticist publishes own genome

About 10 years ago I took a course in Genetics, thinking that it would be a platform towards a career change. Having a degree in engineering, I did not have a problem understanding the introductory course.
At that time the Human Genome Project was in full development.
Considering that the human genome is composed of 24 distinct chromosomes (22 autosomal + X + Y) with a total of approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs containing an estimated 20,000–25,000 genes, the effort to map it has been significant.
Craig Venter is considered a ‘maverick’ geneticist.
Some people will say that publishing his own genome is nothing more than a proof of an inflated ego.
Others will say that he actually has done an unselfish service, providing a much-needed ‘reference genome’ that can be used for comparative purposes.
Individuals’ genomes are only 99.5 per cent the same. That works out to millions of variants between individuals.
To have a reference genome it’s nothing but a very helpful tool for geneticists.