Hacker News Reader

Comment by atomicnumber3 | Hacker News Reader

Is it possible to become wealthy like this AND value human life?

Why does it turn out they every single billionaire is also some combination of narcissist, pedophile, petty tyrant, or just utter freakazoid?

View on HN

Top philanthropists include Jamsetji Tata (donated $102.4 billion), Bill and Melinda Gates ($75.8 billion), Warren Buffett (is pledging to donate 99% of his wealth). Andrew Carnegie gave away 85% of his wealth -- including construction of over 2,500 public libraries.

Bill Gates is not a great example given the recent revelations surrounding him and the nature of his divorce in the latest batch of the Epstein files.

Yes. Colors his philanthropy.

While I hope Warren Buffet isn't cut from the same cloth, the odds are looking quite bad. It would be nice to know there are some out there who can just be smart, get rich, and then NOT damn your immortal soul. But it's looking grim.

Experience would point to extreme wealth changing almost everyone who gains it, for the worse.

Gates took more than he gave, for example:

https://www.folklore.org/MacBasic.html

Only one billionaire has ever given away enough money while he was alive to not be a billionaire. Ever. Pledges don't count. Also Warren Buffet giving away 99% of his wealth still keeps him a billionaire.

Chouinard?

Chuck Feeney

Also I stand corrected, Chouinard is the other instance.

Still very rare

Carnegie did that to white wash his public opinion while he worked his workers non stop and to mutilation or death. When are you going to the library when you work 996 or more?

Because most people who are not some combination of the above tap out somewhere around the $100m-$500m mark or earlier, because they don't have any reason to get more.

Power corrupts the mind. They live in a different world

Reply on news.ycombinator.com