Billionaire philanthropy is not just charitable giving. It's an investment venture before anything else. Then it's about hoarding wealth, avoiding taxes and getting some positive PR for it. Support independent research and analysis by joining my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/thehatedone Private foundation is an institution with a very special status. They are tax exempt private organizations yet they are still allowed to invest into for profit companies. Foundations can hold corporate stocks and bonds and generate revenue this way. There is only one major condition they have to fulfill to keep their tax exempt status - and that is to donate 5% of foundation's total assets on annual basis. So when you hear a billionaire donating their wealth to charity and it's going through a foundation, up to 95% of it can go into profitable investments. In practice, all foundations' assets in the US amount to more than $1 trillion. Yet, they donated only $90.88 billion in 2021. Sources (references are available in the transcript) [0a] https://nccs.urban.org/publication/nonprofit-sector-brief-2019#recipients [0b] https://www.statista.com/statistics/250878/number-of-foundations-in-the-united-states/ [1] https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/08/us/politics/income-taxes-bezos-musk-buffett.html [3] https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/private-foundations [4] https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/private-foundations/taxes-on-failure-to-distribute-income-private-foundations [5] https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-giving-statistics/ [6] https://www.issuelab.org/resources/36381/36381.pdf [7] https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/financials [8] https://www.thenation.com/article/society/bill-gates-foundation-philanthropy/ [9] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-07-na-gatesx07-story.html [10] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1166559/000110465923060842/0001104659-23-060842-index.html [11] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1663801/000089843223000302/0000898432-23-000302-index.html [12a] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-may-18-la-ford-foundation-los-angeles-times-20120517-story.html [12b] https://archives.cjr.org/behind_the_news/ford_foundation_los_angeles_ti.php [13] https://jacobin.com/2015/11/philanthropy-charity-banga-carnegie-gates-foundation-development/ [14] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/pearson-pays-77-million-in-common-core-settlement/2013/12/13/77515bba-6423-11e3-aa81-e1dab1360323_story.html [15] https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067983/000095012323005270/0000950123-23-005270-index.html [16] https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/gates-foundation-awards-11-million-for-financial-inclusion-in-africa [17] https://news.stanford.edu/2018/12/03/the-problems-with-philanthropy/ [18] https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/05/05/what-bill-melinda-gates-did-to-education/ [19] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-bill-gates-pulled-off-the-swift-common-core-revolution/2014/06/07/a830e32e-ec34-11e3-9f5c-9075d5508f0a_story.html [20] https://www.chalkbeat.org/2018/6/21/21105193/the-gates-foundation-bet-big-on-teacher-evaluation-the-report-it-commissioned-explains-how-those-eff [21] https://www.currentaffairs.org/2021/05/humanity-does-not-need-bill-gates [22] https://yewtu.be/watch?v=ag5zQeXC-TY [23] https://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/02/prweb11601976.htm [24] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/09/23/common-core-the-gift-that-pearson-counts-on-to-keep-giving/ [25] https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/02/10/bill-melinda-gates-have-spent-billions-dollars-shape-education-policy-now-they-say-theyre-skeptical-billionaires-trying-do-just-that/ [26] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfRJx6x764U [27] https://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/statistics-on-u-s-generosity/[28] https://www.charitywatch.org/nonprofit-compensation-packages-of-1-million-or-more [29] https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/opinion/the-charitable-industrial-complex.html [30] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-07-na-gatesx07-story.html [31] https://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-gatesx7jan07-sg-storygallery.html [32] https://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-gates8jan8-story.html [33] https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/carbon-billionaires-the-investment-emissions-of-the-worlds-richest-people-621446/ [34] https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/time-care → PDF report [35] https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/survival-richest → PDF report Credits Music by: CO.AG Music; White Bat Audio Follow me: https://twitter.com/The_HatedOne_ https://www.reddit.com/r/thehatedone/ The footage and images featured in the video were for critical analysis, commentary and parody, which are protected under the Fair Use laws of the United States Copyright act of 1976.

Private foundation is an institution with a very special status. They are tax exempt private organizations yet they are still allowed to invest into for profit companies. Foundations can hold corporate stocks and bonds and generate revenue this way.

There is only one major condition they have to fulfill to keep their tax exempt status - and that is to donate 5% of foundation’s total assets on annual basis. So when you hear a billionaire donating their wealth to charity and it’s going through a foundation, up to 95% of it can go into profitable investments. In practice, all foundations’ assets in the US amount to more than $1 trillion. Yet, they donated only $90.88 billion in 2021.

  • @MoonManKipperEnglish
    1•6 months ago

    So not having read the article if the foundations total value is $1000 billion and they donated $90 billion that’s 9% so more than 5%. And over twenty years they’ll donate rather more than if they just had a fire sale and gave all the money once to charity? Sounds ok to me.

    • roastedDeflatorOP
      0•6 months ago

      I think you might change your mind if you take a look at this video. It does a pretty good job explaining where this money is given and how it is actually used.