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The sociopath part is what allows one to do what it takes to get ultra rich in the first place. Other than Gates, not one comes to mind who gives anything to ch

The sociopath part is what allows one to do what it takes to get ultra rich in the first place. Other than Gates, not one comes to mind who gives anything to charity, for example (yes, I’m sure one or two exists).

21asdffdsa12 3mo ago
gates was so noble to even donate prescription medication in secret..
Ekaros 3mo ago
And at level that Gates operates charity of itself is form of power and influence. Not rich people spending money on these things is bad. But sometimes I just question motivations as a whole.
- red-iron-pine 3mo ago
  my understanding too was that his (ex)wife told him, basically, "what are young going to do with all of this?" like he has literally everything he needs, and there is this massive number -- do something, anything with it. You have unlimited time, so chose to do something
  - mothballed 3mo ago
    It's also not uncommon for extravagantly rich people to form family-run charity organizations to distract their nagging wife or family members with a pursuit where they can lord over employees / recipients / organizations without having any profit metrics by which they could be embarrassed by their inferior business chops. This is doubly applicable if you need to distract a nagging hag while you're off banging Russian bridge players.
sph 3mo ago
The first part of your comment is correct, the second part is both wrong and unnecessary glazing of Gates. There's plenty sociopaths that give to charity, because it's a socially accepted display of wealth, and because it is quite convenient for tax purposes.
DaedalusII 3mo ago
basal take, completely incorrect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitable_donation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitabl... the US is the most charitable country on earth as a percentage of GDP. There is so much philanthropy that the finance industry is building new businesses just to serve it https://fintech.global/2026/04/29/the-philtech-revolution-why-philanthropy-is-the-wealth-management-industrys-next-growth-engine/ https://fintech.global/2026/04/29/the-philtech-revolution-wh...
- buellerbueller 3mo ago
  What if extreme charity is merely sociopathic status signaling?
- Hikikomori 3mo ago
  Does this include giving money to churches in USA?
ilaksh 3mo ago
Gates has spent many fortunes cleaning up his image, but he was one of the nastiest business practice worst monopolists ever. "During Bill Gates’s tenure leading Microsoft, the company paid out an estimated $8.46 billion in publicly known antitrust settlements, competitor payouts, and government fines."
Arubis 3mo ago
Gates is actually quite problematic (Epstein is a lot of the problem). If you need an exception to prove the rule, Buffett is a little easier of a fit.

21asdffdsa12 3mo ago

gates was so noble to even donate prescription medication in secret..

Ekaros 3mo ago

And at level that Gates operates charity of itself is form of power and influence. Not rich people spending money on these things is bad. But sometimes I just question motivations as a whole.

red-iron-pine 3mo ago
my understanding too was that his (ex)wife told him, basically, "what are young going to do with all of this?" like he has literally everything he needs, and there is this massive number -- do something, anything with it. You have unlimited time, so chose to do something
- mothballed 3mo ago
  It's also not uncommon for extravagantly rich people to form family-run charity organizations to distract their nagging wife or family members with a pursuit where they can lord over employees / recipients / organizations without having any profit metrics by which they could be embarrassed by their inferior business chops. This is doubly applicable if you need to distract a nagging hag while you're off banging Russian bridge players.

sph 3mo ago

The first part of your comment is correct, the second part is both wrong and unnecessary glazing of Gates. There's plenty sociopaths that give to charity, because it's a socially accepted display of wealth, and because it is quite convenient for tax purposes.

DaedalusII 3mo ago

basal take, completely incorrect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitable_donation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitabl... the US is the most charitable country on earth as a percentage of GDP. There is so much philanthropy that the finance industry is building new businesses just to serve it https://fintech.global/2026/04/29/the-philtech-revolution-why-philanthropy-is-the-wealth-management-industrys-next-growth-engine/ https://fintech.global/2026/04/29/the-philtech-revolution-wh...

buellerbueller 3mo ago
What if extreme charity is merely sociopathic status signaling?
Hikikomori 3mo ago
Does this include giving money to churches in USA?

ilaksh 3mo ago

Gates has spent many fortunes cleaning up his image, but he was one of the nastiest business practice worst monopolists ever. "During Bill Gates’s tenure leading Microsoft, the company paid out an estimated $8.46 billion in publicly known antitrust settlements, competitor payouts, and government fines."

Arubis 3mo ago

Gates is actually quite problematic (Epstein is a lot of the problem). If you need an exception to prove the rule, Buffett is a little easier of a fit.