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It's also not true that Jobs didn't give to charity. The Jobs family has been giving to charity anonymously for more than two decades according to this report.

by IBM 11y ago

It's also not true that Jobs didn't give to charity. The Jobs family has been giving to charity anonymously for more than two decades according to this report. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/laurene-powell-jobs-and-anonymous-giving-in-silicon-valley/ http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/laurene-powell-jobs...

eevilspock 11y ago
I don't know if Jobs deserves praise or honor, but I will say that true giving is anonymous, except when a person gives non-anonymously with the sole genuine goal of influencing other people to give, not to enhance his or her image or legacy. The Gates family name is plastered everywhere. Buildings on the University of Washington campus, the name of their foundation. That puts into doubt his true motivations. He seems to like amassing things: fortune, and now legacy. I'm sure he's also quite motivated to reform his image. I'm glad Gate's is spending his ill-gotten gains on social and health causes. That doesn't mean he deserves praise. He is sacrificing nothing. He lives just as luxuriously, but now he also gets to luxuriate in all the adoration of his "generosity". Who deserves more admiration, Bill Gates giving away money he can't really spend on himself anyway, from the comfort of his 60,000 sq ft mansion with a 2,500 sq ft gym, a 60 ft pool, and a 23-car garage filled with exotic cars? Or the person who decides against a lucrative career path to be a public school teacher with the meager pay and little thanks? Or the doctors who volunteer for Doctors Without Borders, often working in dangerous places, when they could be using that time to rake in more money at home?
- MichaelGG 11y ago
  It's not really the "giving money away" part - though I would note that there are ways to spend it (like a floating sea palace or something). It's that the Gates Foundation is successfully getting things done. At least, that's the impression I get after reading their annual letters. It's not a typical charity where it's all about helping people today (giving out food, medical service, etc.). It's about changing things so things will get improved. So things like bringing in new types of crops to Africa - that kind of thing might make a real impact forever. And even more interesting is that his money isn't enough. He cannot buy solutions to these problems. 50 or 100BN just isn't a ton of money on a global scale, to e.g. immunize a billion people.
- vacri 11y ago
  Gates is using his name to further the philanthropic causes. He's not doing it just for the warm fuzzies. > He is sacrificing nothing. This is utter wank. He sacrifices his working life - he spends a lot of time working on the foundation and pushing philanthropic goals. That's far from 'nothing'. > Who deserves more admiration Why is it a competition?

by IBM 11y ago

eevilspock 11y ago

I don't know if Jobs deserves praise or honor, but I will say that true giving is anonymous, except when a person gives non-anonymously with the sole genuine goal of influencing other people to give, not to enhance his or her image or legacy. The Gates family name is plastered everywhere. Buildings on the University of Washington campus, the name of their foundation. That puts into doubt his true motivations. He seems to like amassing things: fortune, and now legacy. I'm sure he's also quite motivated to reform his image. I'm glad Gate's is spending his ill-gotten gains on social and health causes. That doesn't mean he deserves praise. He is sacrificing nothing. He lives just as luxuriously, but now he also gets to luxuriate in all the adoration of his "generosity". Who deserves more admiration, Bill Gates giving away money he can't really spend on himself anyway, from the comfort of his 60,000 sq ft mansion with a 2,500 sq ft gym, a 60 ft pool, and a 23-car garage filled with exotic cars? Or the person who decides against a lucrative career path to be a public school teacher with the meager pay and little thanks? Or the doctors who volunteer for Doctors Without Borders, often working in dangerous places, when they could be using that time to rake in more money at home?

MichaelGG 11y ago
It's not really the "giving money away" part - though I would note that there are ways to spend it (like a floating sea palace or something). It's that the Gates Foundation is successfully getting things done. At least, that's the impression I get after reading their annual letters. It's not a typical charity where it's all about helping people today (giving out food, medical service, etc.). It's about changing things so things will get improved. So things like bringing in new types of crops to Africa - that kind of thing might make a real impact forever. And even more interesting is that his money isn't enough. He cannot buy solutions to these problems. 50 or 100BN just isn't a ton of money on a global scale, to e.g. immunize a billion people.
vacri 11y ago
Gates is using his name to further the philanthropic causes. He's not doing it just for the warm fuzzies. > He is sacrificing nothing. This is utter wank. He sacrifices his working life - he spends a lot of time working on the foundation and pushing philanthropic goals. That's far from 'nothing'. > Who deserves more admiration Why is it a competition?