40 Billionaires Pledge Away Half Their Wealth

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This is why capitalism works people... humans with excess money give it away out of the goodness of their hearts. sort of defeats the whole premise of tax the rich now doesnt it?
 
[citation][nom]edilee[/nom]With the economy the way it is they might want to give a little less of it away. Their families I am sure are not happy about this.[/citation]

yeah, im sure its really hard living off of $500 million dollars -_-
 
Giving away money after death is giving away something you no longer have, and no longer can use. It's not the most charitable act.
 
[citation][nom]Stryter[/nom]Yea and how often do you see that happen? I'm still waiting for the bum that comes up and asks for a sandwich instead of asking for a few bucks to buy one (which really means buying booze). These billionaires are wealthy for a reason, not chance. They worked their asses off, were creative and competitive. They have absolutely no obligation to share their wealth with anyone else because it is their money and no one elses. Yea they would look like douches for hoarding it all and just sitting on it but they can if they want.I think it speaks well to their character when they give back, no matter how big or small the amount.[/citation]

They're giving away money AFTER they die, in most cases. I can give away my stuff to after I'm dead, and I swear, I won't miss it a bit. It's not that hard to do.

Also, you are equating hard work with money, but there's not a direct correlation, but probably some. Bill Gates is very wealthy because he was at the right place at the right time, and someone else's wife didn't like IBM.

IBM choosing MS-DOS made Microsoft. IBM choosing the 8088 made Intel. There were competitors for both, Microsoft's screwed up royally, and Intel was just lucky people at IBM were more comfortable with their crappy chips, and they were a weaker company and easier to control (at the time), compared to Motorola and the 68000, which was much better.

There are people who work a Hell of a lot harder than Bill Gates, and there are people a Hell of a lot smarter than he is, but they won't be as wealthy as he.

Never underestimate the guiding hand of Fate. Even Zeus and Odin knew they couldn't change it. What chance does a mortal have?
 
[citation][nom]pasoleatis[/nom]It makes me hope there still hope for humanity after all.[/citation]

These kind of people have always been generous with their money towards the end of their lives. It's either that or the Feds are going to snatch up 60% and piss it away on other things unimportant to them.
 
Yeah, I was expecting that there would be 40 billionaires, and that they were giving it away immediately. Or at least entering a legally binding deal with a charity, instead of simply writing a public letter. I wonder how many of them will back out in the years between now and their death.
 
Yeah, I was expecting that there would be 40 billionaires, and that they were giving it away immediately. Or at least entering a legally binding deal with a charity, instead of simply writing a public letter. I wonder how many of them will back out in the years between now and their death.
 
Rumour has it Bill tried to get in contact with Steve Jobs via mobile, but everytime he tried he recieved an out of network error or upon pickup was disconnected. Im guessing hes holding his iPhone incorrectly or has signal issues! XD
 
Well I guess they are not scalawags after all : ) All people should have a good place to live and have enough food. Money is an old world thing cause really the system right now is perfect and probably will stay that way even if money goes away. Stores are there all of the connections are made right, and when people gather all of their needs like than there is no reason for trade anymore. Everyone just has to contribute to society their share and everything will be fine.
 
[citation][nom]magicandy[/nom]The best thing about being a billionaire and giving away half your money is the worst you could do is be a millionaire.[/citation]
not if you have more than 2 billion dollars!
 
This is not capitalism, [citation][nom]shin0bi272[/nom]This is why capitalism works people... humans with excess money give it away out of the goodness of their hearts. sort of defeats the whole premise of tax the rich now doesnt it?[/citation]


YOu realize there are some 700 billionairs in the world, 40 of them giving away half of it means nothing in the grand scheme, they are the anamoly not the norm, what the guys who are giving it away realized unlike this make believe fantasy that you pull yourself up by your britches and you will succeed is that you have to be helped along the way, no one succeeds on their own, yes success for the most part requires hard work, but that's a small fraction of it, being born in the right place and right time, having the right pedigree (enter Gates and Buffet (both of whom had parents well to do with right connections to cultivate their talents), as well as dumb luck play a bigger role. Buffet himself explains "I'm not that special, at all, I simply had a skill that was useful in our society and lucked up along the way, if was born in the middle of the Amazon and could do what I can do, it would be useless". This little annectdote is very important because, the short of it, is that where your born, the advantage you have or dont' have, and so on plays the greatest role in success, we think it's even playing field not at all. Guys like Gates and Buffet, simply, realized it's not, some of it's societal guilt, some of it is genuine kindness, but ... capitalism is the anti-thesis of giving.

Because capitalism is premised on acquiring capital and leverage, it's liek the game of monopoly eventual you get enough capital and ou can't be beat no matter how hard the other players try. And this is a microcosm of life. Sure, a few, will jump strata, but the vast majority no matter how much work they put in ... simply due to the nature of our system will never rather could never be as successful. Taxing the ultra-rich heavily is the only means to level the field or keep the flow of capital going, otherwise, it masses in the hands of to few. In fact, the more successful a capitalistic system the greater the gap, between, the haves and the have nots, that's why the US, has the largest gap between it's rich and poor of all industrialized nations, and by default it has to widen. In any event, the idea, this is capitalism at work is false, it's that some very rich people realized that the system would ultimately fail if wealth in fact is not spread. You'll end up with an oligarchy and serfdom otherwise, much like the game of monopoly.
 
[citation][nom]FloKid[/nom]Well I guess they are not scalawags after all : ) All people should have a good place to live and have enough food. Money is an old world thing cause really the system right now is perfect and probably will stay that way even if money goes away. Stores are there all of the connections are made right, and when people gather all of their needs like than there is no reason for trade anymore. Everyone just has to contribute to society their share and everything will be fine.[/citation]

Are you a Commie?

When you wake up from your dream, you're not going to have an easy fall.

Capitalism is the unequal distribution of wealth, Communism/Socialism is the equal distribution of misery.

People are motivated by gain, and motivation is the key to success. You Commies always miss that part.
 
[citation][nom]ta152h[/nom]Are you a Commie? When you wake up from your dream, you're not going to have an easy fall. Capitalism is the unequal distribution of wealth, Communism/Socialism is the equal distribution of misery.People are motivated by gain, and motivation is the key to success. You Commies always miss that part.[/citation]

Actually, motivation is not the key to success at all, yes, you have to work hard, but that's far from the key to success, it's only 1 factor ... and not at all the defining factor. I suggest you read "Outliers" , "The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell excellent examination, of why people are successful and others are not, he actually examines Bill Gates, as well, and you'd be surprised in Bill's Case , yes he worked, but it was actually dumb luck and being born into the "right family" at the right place and right time, and when I mean "right", I don't mean a family that was simply affluent, had he been born in another part of country with equally as fluent family or even a few years earlier or later, he wouldn't have become the Bill Gates we know. So, contrary, to this false notion that "you pull yourself by your britches" working hard is a far cry or even being motivated from being successful. It's a great book actually highly recommend.

Anyway, socialism, actually isn't at all about the re-distribution of wealth, it actually has one defining premise "those who work the fields, own the fields" it was philosophized to counter the inevitable trend of capital being concentrated not in workers hands but kings, oligarchies, feudal barons, merchant princes, etc ... remember Russia was feudal well into the 1800's. Marx again examined capitalism, which was also a new system, but felt it would essentially continue the lack of access to "capital" by peasants in Russia, and came up with a new idea. Communism is simply one manifestation of that theory, which relies on planned economics, it has nothing to do with redistributing wealth, but having "planned economics" as opposed to "free markets".

Capitalism is simply an economic system, much like communism, or whatever else, and it has it's pitfalls jsut like any other system, especially "laissez-faire" capitalism, but I digress, is there a better system, highly likely, what that is , I have no idea, nor was Communism simply a non-viable system, remember the USSR was still the 2nd biggest economy in the world, behind the US when it collapsed, and early on was just as formidable. The failure or what doomed it is that it was to restrictive, enter .. China which has combined capitalism and communism (we aren't talking politically) but strictly economically such that the government does alot of planning, or interferes to boost it's corporations, which has made it dramatically strong, but here we would consider government owned companies very bad. Either way, I think you should know what you are talking about before spouting off Hooveresque "Red Scare" tactics.
 
[citation][nom]acadia11[/nom]Actually, motivation is not the key to success at all, yes, you have to work hard, but that's far from the key to success, it's only 1 factor ... and not at all the defining factor. I suggest you read "Outliers" , "The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell excellent examination, of why people are successful and others are not, he actually examines Bill Gates, as well, and you'd be surprised in Bill's Case , yes he worked, but it was actually dumb luck and being born into the "right family" at the right place and right time, and when I mean "right", I don't mean a family that was simply affluent, had he been born in another part of country with equally as fluent family or even a few years earlier or later, he wouldn't have become the Bill Gates we know. So, contrary, to this false notion that "you pull yourself by your britches" working hard is a far cry or even being motivated from being successful. It's a great book actually highly recommend. Anyway, socialism, actually isn't at all about the re-distribution of wealth, it actually has one defining premise "those who work the fields, own the fields" it was philosophized to counter the inevitable trend of capital being concentrated not in workers hands but kings, oligarchies, feudal barons, merchant princes, etc ... remember Russia was feudal well into the 1800's. Marx again examined capitalism, which was also a new system, but felt it would essentially continue the lack of access to "capital" by peasants in Russia, and came up with a new idea. Communism is simply one manifestation of that theory, which relies on planned economics, it has nothing to do with redistributing wealth, but having "planned economics" as opposed to "free markets".Capitalism is simply an economic system, much like communism, or whatever else, and it has it's pitfalls jsut like any other system, especially "laissez-faire" capitalism, but I digress, is there a better system, highly likely, what that is , I have no idea, nor was Communism simply a non-viable system, remember the USSR was still the 2nd biggest economy in the world, behind the US when it collapsed, and early on was just as formidable. The failure or what doomed it is that it was to restrictive, enter .. China which has combined capitalism and communism (we aren't talking politically) but strictly economically such that the government does alot of planning, or interferes to boost it's corporations, which has made it dramatically strong, but here we would consider government owned companies very bad. Either way, I think you should know what you are talking about before spouting off Hooveresque "Red Scare" tactics.[/citation]

You read, but you apparently didn't understand.

Motivation is the key. There are exceptions, but when you start getting into huge sample sets, as in millions, the exceptions become unimportant.

Capitalism works because it understands the nature of man, and motivates him. Communism has failed. Even China has moved away from it.

Having a greater population than the United States, and greater resources, yet having half the GNP, is hardly an example of success. In fact, the system collapsed.

Do you think it's coincidence that all Communist countries have been poor? Just look at Germany after WW II. West Germany was very wealthy, East Germany was miserable.

It's not all coincidence.

Reading books is great. But, living life is what matters. In books, even Communism can look OK. In life, it can't.
 
[citation][nom]matt314[/nom]Not Steve Jobs?[/citation]

Was that suppose to be any surprise? He'll be like cleaning his grave is the most revolutionary thing out!
 
Good cause, good will, altruistic, etc. And as good as it seems they are willing to give their fortunes they should compromise their money power gets exactly where they believe it should be invested and provide the goods in a very smart way. Just as the best investments they could had ever done in life.
 
[citation][nom]maigo[/nom]not if you have more than 2 billion dollars![/citation]

How is being a billionaire worse than being a millionaire?
 
"You read, but you apparently didn't understand.

Motivation is the key. There are exceptions, but when you start getting into huge sample sets, as in millions, the exceptions become unimportant.

Capitalism works because it understands the nature of man, and motivates him. Communism has failed. Even China has moved away from it.

Having a greater population than the United States, and greater resources, yet having half the GNP, is hardly an example of success. In fact, the system collapsed.

Do you think it's coincidence that all Communist countries have been poor? Just look at Germany after WW II. West Germany was very wealthy, East Germany was miserable.

It's not all coincidence.

Reading books is great. But, living life is what matters. In books, even Communism can look OK. In life, it can't. "

I think you are the one that don't understand, China does not have more resources than the US, by far one of the main reasons for the US success is it's access and influence over resource, one the largest being Oil. You don't know your world economics, this is the #1 defining factor for the success of any nation, not it's economic system.

Also, you are putting the horse before the cart, all communist nations with the exception of Russia at it's height were poor, therefore they turned to Communism, there is no nation that has turned to either economic system and then became rich. Furthermore, China is turning away from Communism, they are a hybrid-system which has government owned and operated entities, planned economics, as well privatization, for example, where private investors and invest firms own vast quantities of foreign currency in the US, the Chinese government itself owns vast quantities of US notes. Either, case, the argument is not whether communism or capitalism is good or bad, the argument, is that it's really naive to think that capitalism is the end all be all, it's an economic system, that will eventually pass like others like feudalism, mercantilism, communism, etc ... because well that's what happens, P.S. China is still a communist nation, and it's getting richer, why because, although they have adopted free markets (actually always had free markets just not much privitization), the government still plays an essential role in promoting growth and directing growth in the economy, as opposed to letting markets dictate the growth. Seems to be a winning combination at the moment. Anyway, this is a vary vast subject and your comment that "reading" or understanding "the actual mechanisms" of an idea as stupid, shows, that it's simply not a conversation worth having with you (I would classify you as well another fellow ignorant American) who simply thinks he knows it all and has never been or even cared to look outside of his little sphere of knowledge. *End Generalization*

On another note, back to the point, success is not defined by moitivation, it's simply a factor, of many that will aid in being successful, being motivated is simply not the defining answer, it's why the idea of "pull yourself up by your britches" simply is a delusion, the vast majority will work very hard, and not attain those levels of success, because, circumstance, opportunity, chance, accumalated advantage, or disadvantage, simply are in the way, it's jsut nature. It's like all the lions don't get to mate, no matter how motivated they are to do so.
 
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