# Billionaires- they're not like us **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2021, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billionaires-theyre-not-like-us/953388 "2021-10-28T13:54:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billionaires-theyre-not-like-us/953388/41 "2021-10-31T02:10:10Z")
If you mean the Donald J. Trump Foundation, there is essentially no evidence that it was ever engaged in any kind of charitable activity. It was essentially a money laundering operation to give Trump access to tax-free money (much of it “donated” by other people) and to create what I’m sure someone might term “works of art” glorifying Trump. Example: > **[Donald Trump used $20K worth of charitable donations to buy a 6' tall...](https://boingboing.net/2016/09/12/donald-trump-used-20k-worth-o.html)** > > The Donald J Trump Foundation raised a lot of other peoples’ money and spent it on things that benefited Trump, while allowing the Republican presidential candidate to falsely claim to have m… Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billionaires-theyre-not-like-us/953388/42 "2021-10-31T02:11:25Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > OK that kind makes sense. I appreciate the education. I apologize for the snippy comment. It’s been a trying week. > [@dorvann](#): > > Another thought occurred to me involves Bill Gates-he transferred billions of dollars of his asset into the private Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation(now worth $50 billion). Everyone always credits him from donating billions of dollars to charity. Is this a legitimate thing ? Or does he get to enjoy the benefits of those assets while not actually owning them? Otherwise we are going have billionaires they donated all their assets to “charity” in order to avoid a wealth tax. So, I don’t think there is any question that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is a legitimate philanthropic organization that actually invests in programs to reduce poverty and improve health in the developing world. As far as I can tell, Gates doesn’t actually have any ability to use the foundations assets as collateral for personal expenses, and the foundation has legitimate officers who are presumably responsible for the day to day operations with the Gates’ giving strategic direction. I’m morally certain that someone like Bill Gates has a personal trust, both for managing his own finances and to transfer wealth to his children after he passes without probate, but a substantial portion of his personal wealth is in the foundation trust and he has publicly pledged to dispense most of his wealth into it. Of course, it has become evident that one of Bill Gates’ goals with the Foundation is to be considered for a Nobel Peace Prize, so it isn’t pure altruism (and it was Melinda who originally stimulated his interest in charitable given and the problems in the developing world) but the foundation is a legitimate philanthropic enterprise, not just a front for protecting his wealth or dodge taxes. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2021, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billionaires-theyre-not-like-us/953388/43 "2021-10-31T02:37:13Z")
FWIW, the ex-billionaire Chuck Freeney is one who inspired Warren Buffet and Bill Gates to donate nearly 200 billion to charity. [https://www.gatesnotes.com/about-bill-gates/chuck-feeney-the-billionaire-trying-to-go-broke](https://www.gatesnotes.com/about-bill-gates/chuck-feeney-the-billionaire-trying-to-go-broke) Freeney got rich setting up a chain of duty free shops. He had a net worth of around 8 billion. Then he gave all but a few million away (which he kept for his retirement). ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billionaires-theyre-not-like-us/953388/44 "2021-11-01T00:14:46Z")
Isn’t the portrait in that article the one from _Ghostbusters 2_? The one of Vigo – the baddie? ---
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billionaires-theyre-not-like-us/953388/45 "2021-11-01T14:05:52Z")
I’ve known a few people over the years who were worth somewhere between “a few hundred million” and “a couple of billion”, and without exception, all these people are/were indistinguishable from the ordinary people you meet every day. All these people were self-made men for the most part (some were from wealthy families who bankrolled their starts in business, but their success was several orders of magnitude beyond their starting points), and just happened to be extremely successful doing what a lot of other people were also doing. None of these guys are/were in the Bezos/Zuckerberg/Musk/Buffet league, though. Also, it’s possible that the guys I’ve known are not randomly selected, and that the rich guys who are “not like us” are much less likely to interact with people like me, for that very reason. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billionaires-theyre-not-like-us/953388/46 "2021-11-01T16:13:20Z")
> [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](#): > > None of these guys are/were in the Bezos/Zuckerberg/Musk/Buffet league, though. Also, it’s possible that the guys I’ve known are not randomly selected, and that the rich guys who are “not like us” are much less likely to interact with people like me, for that very reason. And similarly, for that same reason are the ones who are highly visible and turned into virtual living memes in the popular culture. Because someone who just very effectively manages their corporation to stay ahead of the competition, and has a megayatch and mansion and throws big A-list parties, but otherwise gets along well with others and does nothing particularly supervillainous, will not make headlines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/billionaires-theyre-not-like-us/953388.md?page=2)