Community Chat

[Porcelain]

I'm noticing Elon Musk is not on that list and supposedly he is the richest.

How selfish! Sure, he has a right to be selfish and miserly with his money and I have a right to call it out and he has a right to not care what I think about him. He has freedom of speech with his words and his money. And so do I.

[novamc1]

@CelticCrafter 

Charities  and other nonprofit organizations constantly publish lists of their donors and even list them in certain categories depending on donation size. 

Have you taken a look at a university alumni magazine lately and seen the list of "legacy" and current donors, grouped by amount given?

Even the sources of  political campaign contributions are  public information.

Do not assume the wealthy are publicity-seekers.  If anything, they  probably would prefer to have their businesses that produce the money be the focus of any publicity.

Plus, businesses,  not just their owners or founders, make plenty of corporate charitable donations.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@novamc1 wrote:

My parents always taught me to  "never look a gift horse in the mouth."

If someone hands you money, do you need to ask how much money they are keeping for themselves and NOT giving to you???

Good grief, so much for gratitude.....

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@novamc1 

I am also surprised that some people think percentage is any of their business.  Who gets to decide what percentage is appropriate?  How do people come up with this crazy stuff, anyway?    

Personally, call me old fashioned, but I think ANYONE donating large sums of money to charities is a good thing.  Period.

[Anonymous032819]

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@novamc1 wrote:

My parents always taught me to  "never look a gift horse in the mouth."

If someone hands you money, do you need to ask how much money they are keeping for themselves and NOT giving to you???

Good grief, so much for gratitude.....

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@novamc1 

I am also surprised that some people think percentage is any of their business.  Who gets to decide what percentage is appropriate?  How do people come up with this crazy stuff, anyway?    

Personally, call me old fashioned, but I think ANYONE donating large sums of money to charities is a good thing.  Period.

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@Tinkrbl44 

You got that right.

Even if the wealthy were to donate 95% of their wealth to charities, people would still bad-mouth them.

They resent the wealthy for being so wealthy.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@CelticCrafter wrote:

I don't know why they have to make it known to the world how much they have given.  

In my opinion it's boastful, look at me, look at what I did.

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@CelticCrafter 

A lot of this is public information, and people are not being "boastful".   Yes, some people sometimes donate anonymously, but, hey, with all the criticism directed at the one percent, when a charity publicly thanks someone for a large donation, so what?   Lots of people benefit ... and isn't that the most important thing?

[Mominohio]

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@Porcelain wrote:

I'm noticing Elon Musk is not on that list and supposedly he is the richest.

How selfish! Sure, he has a right to be selfish and miserly with his money and I have a right to call it out and he has a right to not care what I think about him. He has freedom of speech with his words and his money. And so do I.

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Just because he isn't on the list says absolutely nothing about how much he does or doesn't give. 

Has no one learned this year, that what is reported can't be fully trusted. It can be slanted on a number of levels, and just plain omitting of much information. 

I won't assume that because he isn't included on this list, he isn't giving as much or more than many that are listed. I'll assume that there is a possibility the list COULD BE incomplete or incorrect and based on the agenda of whoever compiled it.

[colliemom4]

I've read that Elon Musk has a foundation that has donated billions to over 150 charities.

[novamc1]

If anyone wants to find the Chronical of Philanthropy info online, they can read about how the data was collected, as well as the names and donation amounts by other wealthy individuals who were named among the "top 50" donors for the year.

Also available are the causes to which they donated.

This story has been carried by more than one or two news outlets, so it should be easy to find if anyone bothers to look.

So stop griping about the wealthy and start learning more about where their money goes.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Porcelain wrote:

I'm noticing Elon Musk is not on that list and supposedly he is the richest.

How selfish! Sure, he has a right to be selfish and miserly with his money and I have a right to call it out and he has a right to not care what I think about him. He has freedom of speech with his words and his money. And so do I.

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@Porcelain 

Well, it would be nice if you actually knew what you are talking about.  Just because his name isn't on a list doesn't mean he doesn't donate.  Actually, he created a  FOUNDATION that donates tons of money.  Look it up.

Here's a small excerpt from an article about his foundations' donations:

"His foundation’s website might be sparse, but his charitable donations are anything but. Neither is the 

list of where he contributes to, whether it’s trees, water filters, education, or sustainable energy, Musk has no problem letting go of his money to help others."

But please don't take that at face value, google his donations and learn something.  But, oh yeah, it's just easier to criticize and call him out as being  "selfish" ... right?    smh

[Porcelain]

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@Mominohio wrote:

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@Porcelain wrote:

I'm noticing Elon Musk is not on that list and supposedly he is the richest.

How selfish! Sure, he has a right to be selfish and miserly with his money and I have a right to call it out and he has a right to not care what I think about him. He has freedom of speech with his words and his money. And so do I.

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Just because he isn't on the list says absolutely nothing about how much he does or doesn't give. 

Has no one learned this year, that what is reported can't be fully trusted. It can be slanted on a number of levels, and just plain omitting of much information. 

I won't assume that because he isn't included on this list, he isn't giving as much or more than many that are listed. I'll assume that there is a possibility the list COULD BE incomplete or incorrect and based on the agenda of whoever compiled it.

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I'm just talking about the list in the original post. There's another thread about friend Elon being the richest person in America. So...you link up the two threads and there's a mismatch.

These people's spending is very much our business. They are affecting our lives in many ways with their business practices and where they spend their money. They fund organizations that affect every aspect of our lives. We can critique any of it as much as we like. They are in the public eye. Comes with the job. No such thing in America as power without responsibility and accountability. We don't have oligarchs here, nor should we.

I like having plenty of money, but I'm not jealous of these folks at all. I would not trade places with them in a million years. I would not want such a circumscribed life and to be so well known for having money. As it is, no one wants to kidnap me and I can go places without bodyguards. Not so for them.