• Skullgrid@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    7 months ago

    you guys are both right.

    the foundation does good work.

    the foundation is a smokescreen to make observers feel that he’s a “good billionaire”, and thus, making us feel we shouldn’t be mad that he’s hoarding a gigantic pile of money that could do even more. (In effect : we should still be mad)

    • fine_sandy_bottom
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      7 months ago

      The smokescreen thing just doesn’t make any sense though. Up to 2020 he had contributed ~$50b to philanthropic endeavours, and then a few years ago “pledged” to contribute another $110b.

      This is the vast majority of his wealth and the very reason he’s moving down the list of wealthy people. Maybe he won’t make good on his pledge, but he appears to be doing exactly that.

      The only evidence that this is a “smokescreen” is that these contributions make him look good.

      There’s no evidence that he’s hoarding a gigantic pile of money in comparisson to the amounts he’s contributing. There’s plenty of other billionaires who aren’t doing anything at all.

      My point is, if we’re looking around for billionaires to hate because they’re hoarding money and not helping why are we so fixated on the one who actually is contributing most of his money to these causes?