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People are suspicious of centralization of power. You can call it whatever you want, a donation, a foundation, a cause, NGO, government, corporation; centraliza

People are suspicious of centralization of power. You can call it whatever you want, a donation, a foundation, a cause, NGO, government, corporation; centralization of power & influence has proven to have side effects that many find undesirable... A similar perspective happened with David Rockefeller & his Rockefeller Foundation.

IfOnlyYouKnew 6y ago
Which is why it's laudable that Gates has specified that their Foundation needs to disburse all funds within some specific, limited timeframe (20 years?) after his death. Once you have amassed a three-digit billion dollars amount, giving it away in such an expedited manner is really the best you can do. It's better than some Foundation set up for eternity amassing power over time. And it's also better than the default of creating a dynasty of trust-fund babies where too much economic power meets unpredictable ambitions.
- briantakita 6y ago
  > Which is why it's laudable that Gates has specified that their Foundation needs to disburse all funds within some specific, limited timeframe (20 years?) after his death. That is laudable. I would like to understand the details of this dispersion. For example, even if a family does not receive the inheritance, a set of institutions, with a particular network & belief system, will. Centralization of power is not just a familial phenomenon, but also pertains to institutions, beliefs, etc. The Catholic Church as an institution is an example of centralization of power & influence that transcended a single family line well over one thousand years... The Rockefeller Foundation continues to have worldwide influence well after David Rockefeller's death.
  - IfOnlyYouKnew 6y ago
    No, it goes further than that: The Foundation is required to spent all its funds within 20 years of Bill & Melinda's death. It will then cease to exist. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_&_Melinda_Gates_Foundation#Lifespan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_&_Melinda_Gates_Foundatio... and https://www.gatesfoundation.org/who-we-are/general-information/financials/foundation-trust https://www.gatesfoundation.org/who-we-are/general-informati...
    - bungle 6y ago
      Why wait until death? Why not start right away? All his entities are just getting wealthier each year. In 2010 Bill Gates wealth was 50 billion. Now it is 100 billion. 15 years after the announcement and "philanthropic" work. Can you explain that.
- vezycash 6y ago
  > Gates has specified that their Foundation needs to disburse all funds within some specific, limited timeframe (20 years?) after his death. First time I'm hearing of this. Anyways, haters are going to hate no matter what he does. >Once you have amassed a three-digit billion dollars amount, giving it away in such an expedited manner is really the best you can do. I'm not sure it's the best. I like what he's currently doing though, ensuring the money gets to where it's needed instead and use for what its intended purpose. If giving it all quickly was his main goal, he'd have just given it all to WHO, Red cross and the thousands of NGOs around the world. But it's an open secret that less than half of the money gets to its destination. The rest are spent on administrative purposes, logistics, marketing, more fund raising...
  - IfOnlyYouKnew 6y ago
    > [..] he'd have just given it all to WHO... You'll be happy to hear that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is not just any supporter of WHO, but their second largest. That's second largest including all the world governments'. Their donation makes up around 10% of WHO's total financing, with only the United States contributing more (for now). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization#Present https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization#Pres... But your larger point is definitely valid. It's a perennial debate if such individually organised altruistic endeavours aren't liable to waste their money due to incompetence/lack of coordination/self-aggrendization/etc.
    - vezycash 6y ago
      >You'll be happy to hear that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is not just any supporter of WHO, but their second largest. Thanks. I knew about it thanks to the anti-Bill gates crowd who managed to spin the huge donation negatively. I.e. he's in control of WHO using it to pursue his 'evil' agendas. And to force mandatory vaccination. But for me, the knowledge made me know who to thank for the free polio, yellow fever, HIV... vaccines in my country. I also made it a point to point out how much he's spent on malaria in Africa. I suspect he's subsidizing malaria drugs as well but I don't have any source to back this up.
  - 6y ago

IfOnlyYouKnew 6y ago

Which is why it's laudable that Gates has specified that their Foundation needs to disburse all funds within some specific, limited timeframe (20 years?) after his death. Once you have amassed a three-digit billion dollars amount, giving it away in such an expedited manner is really the best you can do. It's better than some Foundation set up for eternity amassing power over time. And it's also better than the default of creating a dynasty of trust-fund babies where too much economic power meets unpredictable ambitions.

briantakita 6y ago
> Which is why it's laudable that Gates has specified that their Foundation needs to disburse all funds within some specific, limited timeframe (20 years?) after his death. That is laudable. I would like to understand the details of this dispersion. For example, even if a family does not receive the inheritance, a set of institutions, with a particular network & belief system, will. Centralization of power is not just a familial phenomenon, but also pertains to institutions, beliefs, etc. The Catholic Church as an institution is an example of centralization of power & influence that transcended a single family line well over one thousand years... The Rockefeller Foundation continues to have worldwide influence well after David Rockefeller's death.
- IfOnlyYouKnew 6y ago
  No, it goes further than that: The Foundation is required to spent all its funds within 20 years of Bill & Melinda's death. It will then cease to exist. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_&_Melinda_Gates_Foundation#Lifespan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_&_Melinda_Gates_Foundatio... and https://www.gatesfoundation.org/who-we-are/general-information/financials/foundation-trust https://www.gatesfoundation.org/who-we-are/general-informati...
  - bungle 6y ago
    Why wait until death? Why not start right away? All his entities are just getting wealthier each year. In 2010 Bill Gates wealth was 50 billion. Now it is 100 billion. 15 years after the announcement and "philanthropic" work. Can you explain that.
vezycash 6y ago
> Gates has specified that their Foundation needs to disburse all funds within some specific, limited timeframe (20 years?) after his death. First time I'm hearing of this. Anyways, haters are going to hate no matter what he does. >Once you have amassed a three-digit billion dollars amount, giving it away in such an expedited manner is really the best you can do. I'm not sure it's the best. I like what he's currently doing though, ensuring the money gets to where it's needed instead and use for what its intended purpose. If giving it all quickly was his main goal, he'd have just given it all to WHO, Red cross and the thousands of NGOs around the world. But it's an open secret that less than half of the money gets to its destination. The rest are spent on administrative purposes, logistics, marketing, more fund raising...
- IfOnlyYouKnew 6y ago
  > [..] he'd have just given it all to WHO... You'll be happy to hear that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is not just any supporter of WHO, but their second largest. That's second largest including all the world governments'. Their donation makes up around 10% of WHO's total financing, with only the United States contributing more (for now). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization#Present https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Health_Organization#Pres... But your larger point is definitely valid. It's a perennial debate if such individually organised altruistic endeavours aren't liable to waste their money due to incompetence/lack of coordination/self-aggrendization/etc.
  - vezycash 6y ago
    >You'll be happy to hear that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is not just any supporter of WHO, but their second largest. Thanks. I knew about it thanks to the anti-Bill gates crowd who managed to spin the huge donation negatively. I.e. he's in control of WHO using it to pursue his 'evil' agendas. And to force mandatory vaccination. But for me, the knowledge made me know who to thank for the free polio, yellow fever, HIV... vaccines in my country. I also made it a point to point out how much he's spent on malaria in Africa. I suspect he's subsidizing malaria drugs as well but I don't have any source to back this up.
- 6y ago