I don’t mean doctor-making-150k-a-year rich, I mean properly rich with millions to billions of dollars.
I think many will say yes, they can be, though it may be rare. I was tempted to. I thought more about it and I wondered, are you really a good person if you’re hoarding enough money you and your family couldn’t spend in 10 lifetimes?
I thought, if you’re a good person, you wouldn’t be rich. And if you’re properly rich you’re probably not a good person.
I don’t know if it’s fair or naive to say, but that’s what I thought. Whether it’s what I believe requires more thought.
There are a handful of ex-millionaires who are no longer millionaires because they cared for others in a way they couldn’t care for themselves. Only a handful of course, I would say they are good people.
And in order to stay rich, you have to play your role and participate in a society that oppresses the poor which in turn maintains your wealth. Are you really still capable of being a good person?
Very curious about people’s thoughts on this.
That was going to be my response. If you’re obscenely wealthy but you’re in the process of trying to get rid of that wealth via philanthropy, I think you get a pass.
And not just “pledges”. Actual donations.
So like, almost no multimillionaires.
Bill Gates gets a ton of benefits from his philanthropy. He gets to pay less taxes, he gets to influence the world with his donations, he gets honored at functions for his donations, he gets social validation. All while increasing his wealth.
Philanthropists basically always get benefits from their donations. Real people get hurt while they amass their wealth, and when they give a fraction of it away, they get far more benefits than a middle class person who donated a similar fraction of their wealth.
Arthur Sackler is a perfect example of philanthropy for personal benefit. He amassed his wealth directly on human suffering, getting America addicted to benzodiazepines and then opiates years later. He used his donations to museums to get himself a free place to store the artifacts he was collecting, and trained staff to preserve them. He got events in his honor. He got a hospital wing named after him, which came with priority service at a NYC hospital, where they keep specially equipped rooms and immediate access to a doctor for benefactors.
I’ll be impressed with a billionaire giving away their wealth when one of them gives it to a cause that will work to prevent anyone else from becoming a billionaire.