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Buffet has said he is giving most of his money away. Same with Gates, Ellison and Bloomberg. Carlos Slim has also been donating huge amounts to philanthropies.

lapcat 3y ago
We'll see what happens when they actually die. In any case, they're giving their money "away" to "foundations" controlled by billionaire families. The money is still inherited, and these foundations can be seen as tax shelters.
- DennisP 3y ago
  I've spent some time googling how foundations work and while there are various structures, a common theme is that it's not that cushy. The bulk of the money has to actually go to charity, otherwise you pay the normal taxes. And they keep an eye out for tricks like having the foundation pay absurd salaries to your relatives.
  - lapcat 3y ago
    The foundation doesn't have to be cushy in itself. The family members already inherit enough money to satisfy all of their material desires. You don't even need to be a billionaire to satisfy all of your material desires. Beyond a certain point, wealth is simply power, and the foundations give power to the families. What I see from the billionaires is a desire to undermine democratically elected governments, starving them of funding by cutting taxes, and making them dysfunctional by financing the campaigns of dysfunctional politicians. When the masses lose faith in democratically elected governments, the so-called "charitable" foundations swoop in to become the trusted providers of social services to the masses. The ultimate result is the elimination of democracy and the restoration of hereditary aristocracy, with the foundations ruling the world as undemocratic governments. I would be more impressed if billionaires gave away 99% of their wealth to somewhere that is completely out of the control of themselves and their families. The world's wealthiest people aren't looking to buy more stuff. There are only so many mansions and yachts you can buy before you'd had enough with that and get bored. For the purposes of buying stuff, wealth has diminishing returns. What they're looking for in accumulating unlimited wealth is to increase their power relative to everyone else, to perpetuate social inequality. Power is a kind of zero sum game, because if we all accumulate the same amount, we're still all equal.
    - rufus_foreman 3y ago
      >> I would be more impressed if billionaires gave away 99% of their wealth to somewhere that is completely out of the control of themselves and their families Warren Buffett has already given away stock worth more than his current net worth, and the main beneficiary has been the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His will gives more than 99% of his remaining net worth to philanthropy.
      - lapcat 3y ago
        > the main beneficiary has been the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation In other words, a billionaire-controlled foundation. But also: "Warren Buffett is donating about $870 million to four family-run foundations" "the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which is named after his wife" "three charities run by his children" "Last year, he donated about $750 million to the same foundations. He’s been making the same donations yearly since 2006." https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/22/business/warren-buffett-thanksgiving-donation/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/22/business/warren-buffett-thank...
    - pkkm 3y ago
      What is your evidence for this grand conspiracy theory?
      - lapcat 3y ago
        That's kind of a strange question. It would be a confirmed theory rather than a conspiracy theory if there were empirical evidence. I would say, though, in support of the theory: (1) this is how the ultra-wealthy have always behaved throughout history, to advance the interests of their own social class, to preserve and enhance their social inequality, and (2) I have a hard time trusting the motives of the people who have set up these foundations, because they've always been ruthless and greedy throughout their lives. Gates has never stopped accumulating personal wealth; his net worth is higher now than when he "retired" and claimed he was going to give most of his wealth away! Buffett has never stopped accumulating personal wealth either. It's a cop-out to claim that you're going to give everything away to charity, but only after you're dead. Moreover, your pledges are worthless when your dead, because your children who now control your money via the foundations may behave in ways that you didn't intend (which is often the way with children). If you're going to give most of your wealth away to charity, and by that I mean to actual people who need the money, not to a "foundation", then give it away now, before you die. I do not trust Bill Gates one bit, not even one tiny bit. I don't even trust the foundations to do good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation#Criticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundat... So you can say that my conspiracy theory is the most cynical interpretation of the situation, due to my cynicism about the billionaires themselves.

lapcat 3y ago

We'll see what happens when they actually die. In any case, they're giving their money "away" to "foundations" controlled by billionaire families. The money is still inherited, and these foundations can be seen as tax shelters.

DennisP 3y ago
I've spent some time googling how foundations work and while there are various structures, a common theme is that it's not that cushy. The bulk of the money has to actually go to charity, otherwise you pay the normal taxes. And they keep an eye out for tricks like having the foundation pay absurd salaries to your relatives.
- lapcat 3y ago
  The foundation doesn't have to be cushy in itself. The family members already inherit enough money to satisfy all of their material desires. You don't even need to be a billionaire to satisfy all of your material desires. Beyond a certain point, wealth is simply power, and the foundations give power to the families. What I see from the billionaires is a desire to undermine democratically elected governments, starving them of funding by cutting taxes, and making them dysfunctional by financing the campaigns of dysfunctional politicians. When the masses lose faith in democratically elected governments, the so-called "charitable" foundations swoop in to become the trusted providers of social services to the masses. The ultimate result is the elimination of democracy and the restoration of hereditary aristocracy, with the foundations ruling the world as undemocratic governments. I would be more impressed if billionaires gave away 99% of their wealth to somewhere that is completely out of the control of themselves and their families. The world's wealthiest people aren't looking to buy more stuff. There are only so many mansions and yachts you can buy before you'd had enough with that and get bored. For the purposes of buying stuff, wealth has diminishing returns. What they're looking for in accumulating unlimited wealth is to increase their power relative to everyone else, to perpetuate social inequality. Power is a kind of zero sum game, because if we all accumulate the same amount, we're still all equal.
  - rufus_foreman 3y ago
    >> I would be more impressed if billionaires gave away 99% of their wealth to somewhere that is completely out of the control of themselves and their families Warren Buffett has already given away stock worth more than his current net worth, and the main beneficiary has been the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His will gives more than 99% of his remaining net worth to philanthropy.
    - lapcat 3y ago
      > the main beneficiary has been the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation In other words, a billionaire-controlled foundation. But also: "Warren Buffett is donating about $870 million to four family-run foundations" "the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which is named after his wife" "three charities run by his children" "Last year, he donated about $750 million to the same foundations. He’s been making the same donations yearly since 2006." https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/22/business/warren-buffett-thanksgiving-donation/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/22/business/warren-buffett-thank...
  - pkkm 3y ago
    What is your evidence for this grand conspiracy theory?
    - lapcat 3y ago
      That's kind of a strange question. It would be a confirmed theory rather than a conspiracy theory if there were empirical evidence. I would say, though, in support of the theory: (1) this is how the ultra-wealthy have always behaved throughout history, to advance the interests of their own social class, to preserve and enhance their social inequality, and (2) I have a hard time trusting the motives of the people who have set up these foundations, because they've always been ruthless and greedy throughout their lives. Gates has never stopped accumulating personal wealth; his net worth is higher now than when he "retired" and claimed he was going to give most of his wealth away! Buffett has never stopped accumulating personal wealth either. It's a cop-out to claim that you're going to give everything away to charity, but only after you're dead. Moreover, your pledges are worthless when your dead, because your children who now control your money via the foundations may behave in ways that you didn't intend (which is often the way with children). If you're going to give most of your wealth away to charity, and by that I mean to actual people who need the money, not to a "foundation", then give it away now, before you die. I do not trust Bill Gates one bit, not even one tiny bit. I don't even trust the foundations to do good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation#Criticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundat... So you can say that my conspiracy theory is the most cynical interpretation of the situation, due to my cynicism about the billionaires themselves.