Giving away a fortune

From the NY Times:


Pledge to Give Away Half Gains Billionaire Adherents
I know we are all supposed to praise this generosity but I think there is a case to be made for these guys making a better use of their assets.  These guys did not get rich by giving away their money.  They got wealthy by investing their resources in businesses that provided goods or services that other people wanted and were willing to pay for.  In the process they created jobs that Obama could only dream about.  Will giving the money away create jobs?  Perhaps a few, but they are unlikely to be productive jobs.

But, if they are committed to giving it away I know a blogger who would be willing to accept their contribution in order to spread his message of whirled peas.

Comments

  1. Tina7:34 PM

    It is interesting that each generation of fortune-builders reaches a point where, although competitive income never stops, a new element of competitive giving (sometimes charitable, sometimes in the form of constructing monuments or patronizing art) enters the picture.

    Charitable trusts are interesting things. They protect their donors and the founding donors, from a great many annoyances, from scrutiny, from taxes, while generating lots of rosy PR. Does this group take their cue from Ikea's founder? One wonders what a cabal of individuals wealthier than most countries has in mind. Are these people cut from the cloth of Andrew Carnegie, or of Howard Hughes?

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