4 ms·

There is not a lot to write the donation off against. Zuck is on a salary and won't be selling any stock for a few more years. This is straight up just giving a

by nikcub 14y ago

There is not a lot to write the donation off against. Zuck is on a salary and won't be selling any stock for a few more years. This is straight up just giving away $500M. Zuck wasn't the one who put a dollar value on the donation, that was CNN. Zuck only mentioned a number of shares. He also said he is committed to giving away most of his net worth. There really is nothing that can be criticized here. You could perhaps discuss his choice of how to distributed his wealth, but the fact that he is giving it away, and starting so soon in his life (as opposed to waiting for when he retires), should be commended. And if Facebook "should" be trading at $10, then it would be trading at $10.

maxerickson 14y ago
It's likely he can carry the deduction forward. (I do understand that he only saves some portion of the $500 million so it doesn't make sense to say he is doing it for tax purposes.)
- loceng 14y ago
  I imagine once you have a guaranteed $10-$20 million to your name, you'd not need or have any attachment to any money after that.
  - maxerickson 14y ago
    I would at least believe that there is a point where most people start seeing money primarily as a tool (rather than something they primarily exchange for necessities...). My qualification there was mostly intended to deflect the impression that I was sniping. I don't have any much knowledge of high end wealth management, but my understanding of it is that it is very difficult to use a charitable gift to actually make money. There is some tax benefit, but it is always smaller than the gift. Apparently the big charity-as-tax-scam is to establish a bona fide foundation and then stack the board with people you would like to provide with income. But that foundation has to pass a smell test with the IRS, so it is really a tax and wealth management strategy, not a way to escape paying taxes (at least, paying taxes on income that gets used for something or other).

by nikcub 14y ago

maxerickson 14y ago

It's likely he can carry the deduction forward. (I do understand that he only saves some portion of the $500 million so it doesn't make sense to say he is doing it for tax purposes.)

loceng 14y ago
I imagine once you have a guaranteed $10-$20 million to your name, you'd not need or have any attachment to any money after that.
- maxerickson 14y ago
  I would at least believe that there is a point where most people start seeing money primarily as a tool (rather than something they primarily exchange for necessities...). My qualification there was mostly intended to deflect the impression that I was sniping. I don't have any much knowledge of high end wealth management, but my understanding of it is that it is very difficult to use a charitable gift to actually make money. There is some tax benefit, but it is always smaller than the gift. Apparently the big charity-as-tax-scam is to establish a bona fide foundation and then stack the board with people you would like to provide with income. But that foundation has to pass a smell test with the IRS, so it is really a tax and wealth management strategy, not a way to escape paying taxes (at least, paying taxes on income that gets used for something or other).