[deleted]
No.
The page you link has the foundation’s leadership structure. He’s a cochair on the board with 8 total people. The board is a degree removed from day to day operations of the foundation. He’d have to convince the board to then convince the executives.
That transaction would then show up in their financial statements, which are audited and publicly posted on that website. Meaning using the foundation’s money for something like a private jet would become public knowledge within a couple years and would do irreparable harm to the foundation’s reputation.
DessertStorms@kbin.social 7 months ago
That's because the philanthropy is working exactly as intended - to white wash his reputation, and make him out to be "the good billionaire".
Moving down from no. 1 to no. 5, at that scale of wealth literally has no impact on him, but rather it's money well spent to take the heat and attention off of him so he can continue exploiting an hoarding in peace.
fine_sandy_bottom@discuss.tchncs.de 7 months ago
I genuinely don’t understand why this perspective is so popular.
He spent a boatload of cash vaccinating kids which has undoubtedly saved 10s of millions of lives.
Fuck him right? What an asshole.
Yes he gets a tax deduction for money contributed to the foundation, but it’s still a net loss to him.
Yes the foundation probably pays for jets and flights but its audited regularly so it can’t be used as a personal slush fund for private purposes.
Yes I’m sure there were some unintended consequences and failed projects, but solving problems and helping people particularly in impoverished nations is hard.
Are other billionaires doing a better job of saving the world ?
whoreticulture@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 months ago
Because we shouldn’t be, and don’t need to be, relying on the goodwill of Billionaires to solve social problems. Instead of giving tax breaks for billionaires to pick and choose which issues to fund, we should tax the billionaires out of existence and democratically decide what to do with our money.
DessertStorms@kbin.social 7 months ago
Probably because you've got one boot stuck so deep down your throat you can't see the other one stomping on your own neck, as well as everyone's around you (including the people they "help", only after having exploited them first, as well as maintaining and exclusively benefiting from the systems that keep them poor and sick in the first place, of course).. ¯\(ツ)/¯
dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 7 months ago
My issue is that we allow people to amass these massive fortunes to then choose what problems they fix.
Not to dissuade from anything good BG has done, that doesn’t excuse all the terrible things he did to amass this fortune.
Sethayy@sh.itjust.works 7 months ago
I mean not to go against the propaganda but shouldn’t we allow kids to have vaccines without a boatload of cash?
Just cause you save a million kids doesn’t mean you can harm 10 million more, though that could mean a 10x return on investment