• Perfide@reddthat.com
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    1 year ago

    I’m so fucking sick of all these billionaires “pledging” their fortunes. “I promise to donate all my wealth when I die” then fucking do it you cowards, die already.

    • Bricktamland29@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      They donate their wealth to avoid taxes. Basically their families control the foundations, they donate and avoid a whole shit ton of taxes their next of kin get the money from the foundation.

      Adam Conover did a video on it.

        • Foggyfroggy@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Eh, Gates is older and has shown more commitment to the idea than most. I still wouldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him but the foundation has done some good things for a long time. And maybe with fewer self-aggrandizing press stories compared to others.

          • qyron@sopuli.xyz
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            1 year ago

            How do you go and, true to the expression, really throw someone?

            Does it imply throwing a human being as we’d throw a log? Perhaps a brick? I’d expect it involves a lot of physical strenght. And does it imply being from a stationary position?

            Does throwing someone down a window or from a moving car or perhaps a boat count?

            It intrigues me.

            • stjobe@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Left hand by the scruff, right hand by the belt, lift, swing forward, back, forward, and release. Easy :)

      • SCB@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        They give away all their money so they don’t have to give away some of their money. Then they commit crimes so their kids can… have the money they gave away to not give away.

        What a take lol

    • average_internet_enjoyer@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Let’s not forget, that while they “pLeDgE”, they are also literally fucking their workers at the same time and expect that it all cancels out…

    • very_poggers_gay [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      One night I went through Gates’ “Giving Pledge” and I compared the wealth of the people who signed on in 2010 (when they started doing this pledge to give more than half their wealth to charity thing) to their wealth now. The average increase in wealth in those 12 years was like 170%, and the total combined wealth of the 50 or so signees had gone from like 250b to almost 700b. I wanted to make an effort-post with the data and more comprehensive analysis, but I got too busy and mad about it lol.

      It’s crazy how profitable “charity” is for the ultra-rich

    • GarfieldYaoi [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      Like, imagine if Elon Musk actually did spend all the wealth he got from profiting off of the shitshow of COVID and solved climate change. He’d be hailed as a hero and the left would be stuck eating their hats for decades to come. But no, he would rather own the libs because they convinced his daughter to join their side.

    • UlyssesT [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      1 year ago

      So many of them are financing “try to live forever with vampirism” style projects so what they’re saying is they want positive PR now just in case they fail… and probably will send their hoards to their eugenics-inspired failsons later anyway.