Billionaires to give away half their fortune

Though I think it's a nice thing to do I must admit I am suspicious too. Are they feeling guilty all of a sudden? How come? Have they been visited by God or summit?
Where were they with their billions during live aid and stuff like that? I mean, with billions you can probably buy small countries so why do I see starving babies on the telly? I've been seeing them for years. Where have they been with their billions if they only just noticed that? Why are there tent cities springing up all over 1st world countries when folk have billions in the bank anyway?

[edit on 5-8-2010 by wigit]

Factbox - List of U.S. billionaires making charity pledge

uk.reuters.com...

When you have 20+ billion dollars in the bank, what's a dollar?

They have so much of it it becomes meaningless to them. It is easy to give half of it away, because the half they have left is still too much to know what to do with.

There is only so much you can do with money. If you only have a little of it, each dollar is important to you. Once you have billions, it means nothing anymore.

There is no great charity here. Someone who gives away his last dime to another who needs it more, is genuinely being charitable.

These people are not charitable. They are laughing in our faces.

Originally posted by wigit

Factbox - List of U.S. billionaires making charity pledge

uk.reuters.com...

Great find! I was browsing the list and saw these names, which DEFINATELY throws up a red flag:

Ted Turner -- Founded CNN cable news channel and is worth $1.8 billion after already giving $1.5 billion to charity.
David Rubenstein -- co-founded private equity giant Carlyle Group; worth $2.5 billion.
David Rockefeller Sr. -- Philanthropist grandson of oil baron John D. Rockefeller; worth $2.2 billion.
Peter Peterson -- co-founded private equity outfit Blackstone Group and the Peter G. Peterson Foundation; worth $2 billion. (

Originally posted by wayno
When you have 20+ billion dollars in the bank, what's a dollar?

They have so much of it it becomes meaningless to them. It is easy to give half of it away, because the half they have left is still too much to know what to do with.

There is only so much you can do with money. If you only have a little of it, each dollar is important to you. Once you have billions, it means nothing anymore.

There is no great charity here. Someone who gives away his last dime to another who needs it more, is genuinely being charitable.

These people are not charitable. They are laughing in our faces.

They could have very well kept their money and still laughed in your face
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[edit on 5-8-2010 by 547000]

Double post.

[edit on 5-8-2010 by 547000]

Global Economic Collapse WILL happen. And it will happen soon. They have nothing to lose if they already have everything they want.

reply to post by Come Clean


ONLY half?

Who they giving it to?

Is there a link?

reply to post by 547000

They could have very well kept their money and still laughed in your face
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I'm not damning them. I just don't buy the "charity" angle.
They are doing this because they are getting some benefit from it -- more than they would by just hanging on to the money or investing it to get even more money.

What it is they are getting from this type of gesture is really up to speculation. Maybe its just an image thing, considering how pissed off most regular people are at the rich. Maybe its something more.

Whatever it is, it aint charity. That much I can guarantee you.

reply to post by Come Clean


I don't care how or why, the only thing I want to know is how do I sign up??? Sorry, I may be a little petty, but dang I could use their money!!!!! Maybe they know that it isn't going to be worth jack pretty soon though, who knows?

I doubt I will see any of this money to help me, but maybe it will help someone else.


That being said I am wary of their reasons to do this. Certainly, they will get huge tax incentives for “donating to charity”, that in itself might be useful when the massive tax increases hit next year.

As another poster said when you have as much as they do it is safe to say you have most everything you could want. Everything else is just really nothing to them. After a certain point each dollar is just redundant.

A part of me wonders what their religious beliefs are and if they think this will help secure them a better after life. Maybe they expect something big coming up that has nothing to do with money falling but an end of the world type thing coming. If they only have actions though it will not help them in the end, one needs heart as well.

I cannot give a definitive reason for their sudden charity, I can say though that I believe there is a reason behind this that benefits them, or that they believe will benefit them. Good for them for helping someone who might need it, I would not mind some help though either.

Raist

Screw the "Charities" if this was on the level they would be the last to recieve and if they took just a smidgeon of that kind of cash and gave each person in the country a portion, America would once again be the greatest and richest Nation in the world because the people would again turn back to the Made in America mentality and tptb would not be able to fight us on any new and technologically innovative ideas we would have the money to create. Jobs? Yes jobs would be every where.

This is Ludicris, this angers me very much. Maybe its the whole reptillian thingie, trying to get us angry so they can harvest our energy...

I will not identify, or get mad! This is an ugly thing!

reply to post by Raist


Yep the ole richman through the eye of the needle.. This is and always will be wrong or they could give to every person in the world, every child on the streets of every nation in the world.

They could build irrigation where there is drought, bring in soil and seed to hungry nations, they could build piplines of clean water and create jobs all across the starving nations.

They could send us ALL to Disneyland!

It's good to renounce fortunes, they will be happier as a result, but since most billionaires are not virtuous people, I am suspicious as to why they would be doing this. Perhaps it is to line up for a currency switch, or maybe they want to counter the negative images of themselves with a little PR charity for the public. If they sincerely renounce their fortunes, that is good, but if this is some cheap trick to make more wealth or to ease their conscience because of what they've done to gain those billions, it is pathetic.

Yeah. Give it to charities. Hmm...we'll see. On it's surface, a noble idea. However, I'm going to wait and see who they give it to and for what. Those will be very big clues.

Bet it won't be reinvesting in their own countries, much like most corporations haven't been for a couple of decades...instead choosing to invest in the infrastructures and education systems of the countries they send our work to. So, and I hope I'm wrong, I'll betcha those who built their empires in America won't be giving that much back to the Americans who helped them do it and bought their crap when they weren't so rich. They dumped us fast. Guess they thought pay was enough to "give" us for what we did. Well, we'll see. Like I said...reserving judgment.

Yes, that list is rather coincidentally a lot like other lists we've seen. Maybe this is the portion of the program where they invest in what they see as their future homes. Again, I'm betting that's not going to be North America.

I read this morning in another article about this (Taipei Time online, I think) that next they will be soliciting billionaires in India and China. Wow how many are there in India and China? I felt a bit ignorant there. I didn't think either country was at that level yet.

[edit on 8/5/2010 by ~Lucidity]

It's a tax scam!!!!

Just another way of them holding wealth without paying their due.

Altruistic and Philanthropic billionaires....yeah right!!

If the end comes and they scurry to their bunkers, keep an eye out for a mad dude driving a cement truck, they won't be coming out again.

Originally posted by Stormdancer777
reply to post by Come Clean

 

ONLY half?

Who they giving it to?

Is there a link?

1. it is a pledge to give away the majority of one's wealth at or prior to death with a explanatory letter Warren Buffet has committed 99% of his 47B.

2. it would appear that they are giving it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation *shudders*

3. yes there is: link

Okay...I take back part of what I said up there...maybe the arts and other places in this country will get some benefit



[edit on 8/5/2010 by ~Lucidity]

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Sorry but giving money to a dance theater is not going to feed the child down the street nor will it keep families from losing their home.

They might be giving to the community (again good for them), but I fail to see how giving money to something like a dance theater will help those who really need it.

Raist

So all Windows versions were way overpriced.
To much earnings, mean too high market prices. And now they dont know what to do with their money ?

Smelly..