What do people do with all this money? This isn't a rhetorical question; I'd really like to know what these people intend to do with such fortunes. I assume part of it is really stocks, and so it's company worth rather than personal worth, but still, I can't see ever needing more than, say, $2-3 million over the course of my entire life.
So I'm guessing hes given around 0.1% of his wealth away.
Try about 60%. There was a Businessweek article in December 2002 that ranked the biggest philanthropists in the world [businessweek.com] (not sure if non-subscribers can read this article from the archives) -- he's ranked #1 in terms of amounts given. My eyeball estimate is that he's #6 in terms of percentage of wealth given (which is somewhat misleading, since Gordon Moore and James Stowers apparently committed more money than they were worth, and so would be ranked #1 and #2 in terms of percentage).
I'd be impressed if the man gave away a few billion dollars at a time and not in stupid ways. When he spends money on schools I'm impressed when he actually builds a school, but usually he does not build a school, usually he just donates Microsoft products (big deal) to schools.
Gates's main focus is eradicating diseases in developing countries. Yeah, that's really stupid. He has also given the largest single private grant in history [nptimes.com] -- for a global vaccine program. Again, very stupid. Whatever.
BTW, Larry Ellison (Oracle) is ranked #1 for biggest cheapskate [businessweek.com] -- he has given away 0.4% of his worth. Steve Ballmer is the 5th biggest cheapskate. And, to me, worst of all, given who he is and what he stands for for so many people, Warren Buffett is the 6th biggest cheapskate -- he's given away only $230 million of his $36 billion.
The more money you have, the more you can imagine spending money on. You and I never think about buying our own private luxury yacht, complete with crew, helicopter, etc., because it's so beyond what we can afford. When, however, you look at your bank balance and realise that you can, but you just need to double your estate to make it worthwhile...
I'm sure anyone could think of ways to spend more than that... I mean think about it. Would you like a house on South Beach? Another one in Greece? Maids for both? A Delorian? A yacht? A yacht for your maids? A small fleet of luxury airplanes? A large reputable university? A President? A cure for AIDS? A solution to world hunger?
Any one can give out any amount of money. Because in fact money is not really paper bills, but rather power to do as you please.
Technically you can live very comfortably on $25k/year. It all depends on how you want to live. Are you happy making dinner every night, renting a house (or buying a small house), and driving a Honda Civic. Or do you need to eat at fancy restaurants, have a couple of sports cars (and an SUV of course) and need a large house in an upscale neighborhood?
What we WANT drives what we consider comfortable, and some people will never be happy because there is always more stuff to buy. Unfortunatly many people find they are not happy in life and think if they could just buy a better car, or a bigger house, or a few more computer parts then they would be happy. Of course that never works. It really is no different with the middle class or the super rich.
I've always wondered... (Score:5, Interesting)
What do people do with all this money? This isn't a rhetorical question; I'd really like to know what these people intend to do with such fortunes. I assume part of it is really stocks, and so it's company worth rather than personal worth, but still, I can't see ever needing more than, say, $2-3 million over the course of my entire life.
I'll tell you what I would do with all that money. (Score:5, Funny)
The Biggest Philanthropists (Score:4, Informative)
Try about 60%. There was a Businessweek article in December 2002 that ranked the biggest philanthropists in the world [businessweek.com] (not sure if non-subscribers can read this article from the archives) -- he's ranked #1 in terms of amounts given. My eyeball estimate is that he's #6 in terms of percentage of wealth given (which is somewhat misleading, since Gordon Moore and James Stowers apparently committed more money than they were worth, and so would be ranked #1 and #2 in terms of percentage).
I'd be impressed if the man gave away a few billion dollars at a time and not in stupid ways. When he spends money on schools I'm impressed when he actually builds a school, but usually he does not build a school, usually he just donates Microsoft products (big deal) to schools.
Gates's main focus is eradicating diseases in developing countries. Yeah, that's really stupid. He has also given the largest single private grant in history [nptimes.com] -- for a global vaccine program. Again, very stupid. Whatever.
BTW, Larry Ellison (Oracle) is ranked #1 for biggest cheapskate [businessweek.com] -- he has given away 0.4% of his worth. Steve Ballmer is the 5th biggest cheapskate. And, to me, worst of all, given who he is and what he stands for for so many people, Warren Buffett is the 6th biggest cheapskate -- he's given away only $230 million of his $36 billion.
Re:I've always wondered... (Score:3, Interesting)
The more money you have, the more you can imagine spending money on. You and I never think about buying our own private luxury yacht, complete with crew, helicopter, etc., because it's so beyond what we can afford. When, however, you look at your bank balance and realise that you can, but you just need to double your estate to make it worthwhile...
Re:I've always wondered... (Score:4, Interesting)
Any one can give out any amount of money. Because in fact money is not really paper bills, but rather power to do as you please.
Re:I've always wondered... (Score:3, Insightful)
Mostly, wealthy people give their money away. Heard of Carnegie Hall?
Re:I've always wondered... (Score:5, Insightful)
What we WANT drives what we consider comfortable, and some people will never be happy because there is always more stuff to buy. Unfortunatly many people find they are not happy in life and think if they could just buy a better car, or a bigger house, or a few more computer parts then they would be happy. Of course that never works. It really is no different with the middle class or the super rich.
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