Why don't "rich" people donate more money?

You are not missing anything. You may have just discovered what a lot of us have been bitching about for quite a while. 400 or so people in our country own 1/2 the wealth. They are not investing, or reinvesting, they are not spending. They are coveting the other 1/2 of the country's wealth, however. Notice how the rich don't donate. They organize fund raisers!

This is why we want them and the profitable corporations taxed fairly. Why should they get tax breaks? You don't. I don't. The interest alone on the tax from the rich would pay for the African countries medical materials.

Rich People Who Donate Money

The rich don't donate?

Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell all donated billions of dollars to charity.

Get a life and start working

There's a few things.

One: many rich people tend to take the more conservative view (not bashing conservatives here, it's a legitimate argument) that many poor people are just too lazy to make something of their lives.

Two: they do donate, but to different places. e.g. The famous "robber baron" Carnegie (as in Carnegie Hall) donated tons of money, almost 90% of it, to charities that fostered music and the arts. He felt that giving it directly to poor people was a waste, but giving it to the arts would help the poor gain a sort of inspiration to improve their lives.

Three: many actually do. Bill Gates is famous for how much he actually donates relative to his salary. If he didn't create the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to combat poverty and disease, he would probably own the world right now.

Much of the donation money does not trickle down to the needy. The charities have employees who take up a large chunk of that amount. Only little is left for the poor. The model of charities is an outdated one and philanthropists should re-examine the true purpose of giving.

No one wants to beg...

It's easy to say that rich should donate to money. But it changes if you're the rich one, usually because your world circles around keeping your wealth and the good life. Most rich people love their money and don't want to give it away to random people.

However there are people who do make many donations still. Just look at Bill Gates, none of his kids are getting his fortune when he dies, he's donating it to charities.

They already do donate to charity's and fund raisers, as an annual tax write off, of there earnings. Though you many see persons with money as being rich, they still pay taxes as everyone else.

I think a lot of rich people do donate a lot of money. They are the kind of people I aspire to be. They can make a huge difference in so many people's lives.

They make the money and probably worked hard for it. Why should they donate? They can do whatever they want with it even if it's leaving it all to the grand kids when they die.

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