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> "Gates would have had a net worth of more than $150 billion if he’d held onto assets that he’s given away, largely to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation." S
by whack 8y ago
> "Gates would have had a net worth of more than $150 billion if he’d held onto assets that he’s given away, largely to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation."
Sorry Bezos, you've still got some catching up to do. Lifetime earnings are what really count, even if you give it all away to charity.
- nsx147 8y agoGates does have an ~8 year lead
- qop 8y agoNo shit. The comment you're responding to included the words "catching up"...
- untog 8y agoI wonder how Gates' charitable givings 8 years ago compare to Bezos' today. I suspect Bezos wouldn't look fantastic by comparison.
- delecti 8y agoUnless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, isn't it closer to 20 years? 1975 and 1994
- CamTin 8y agoWhy not simply avoid making billions so you don't have to give it all away to assuage your guilt and come out close to neutral?
- BigChiefSmokem 8y agoInfluence.
- amelius 8y ago> Why not simply avoid making billions so you don't have to give it all away to assuage your guilt and come out close to neutral? Because someone else will be making billions ... over your back.
- throwaway37585 8y agoAssuage your guilt?
- ambicapter 8y ago> 1. To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe: assuage her grief. See Synonyms at relieve. > 2. To satisfy or appease (hunger or thirst, for example). > 3. To appease or calm: assuaged his critics. https://www.thefreedictionary.com/assuage https://www.thefreedictionary.com/assuage
- throwaway37585 8y agoI was asking why the GP thinks assuaging guilt is a motivation here.
- CamTin 8y agoIt's pretty well documented that a lot of the lavish philanthropy of gilded age barons like Carnegie and Rockefeller was motivated by their guilt and concern about not being able to thread a camel through a needle. I don't know about the religious motivations of our current crop of billionaires, but presumably a lot of the same motivations are at play, since human nature hasn't changed substantially in the past 100 years.