Quote from austinp:
The really rich work as hard at giving money away as the less fortunate work at collecting money = material goods.
What? What planet you talking about?
I happen to know quite a few RICH people, I have also been present at one of Soros' prvate philantropic events (catering) and for the most part, these people are full of sh*t. They just need to reinforce to themselves that they are actually worth something in a moral sense, but they just will not do what really counts.
Gates, Soros and Buffett to an extent are doing the same philantropy that Rockefeller did in the last part of his life. On the surface, he came off as a born-again angel who was building universities, libraries and medical research centers. However, after some digging, this Mofo was the devil himself, as whatever institution he funded was required to teach & promote whatever Rockefeller said, such the notion that pharmaceuticals are the answer to health. Libraries were revamped with a lot of valuable material burned, research centers were restaffed and told what to do for decades to come, universities had their whole programs redone to fit Rockefeller's domination plans to last centuries after his death. Fun stuff, the conditioning of generations to come.
It's like when Richard Branson comes on TV and the newspapers and sounds like mr. goody-two-shoes with that fund promoting renewable energy and all that (Clinton & Gates are part of it also). Except that it's mostly corn & wheat ethanol (scam) that is subject to the federal subsidies at the expense of the US taxpayers. Oh and guess what, after this move, all of the sudden the US government is being much more lenient on his move to bring Virgin Airlines into the US. For those who do not know, if Branson is allowed to have Virgin enter the US marketplace, he will undercut everyone and end up with a monopoly via early 1900s style. Originally, he was shut out, now he is allowed back in after this "philantropic" move.
All these pretenders can easily make a big and significant impact with the money they donate. Just by simply starting businesses that focus more on the people, the quality and less on profit, they can improve the financial well being of the lower classes, as well as improve the quality of life by using high grade, environmentally friendly processes. Why not invest in deconstructing the commercial ways of growing food, livestock, etc.? Why not invest in creating new companies that fight the offshoring trend? Why not support small family type businesses that take pride in their work instead of only focusing at maximizing profit? How about moving on to fix the US school system?
Because these "philantropists" are full of it (Buffett is a tough one to read, he may not be). These people are being driven by an insatiable ego power trip, nothing more. Otherwise they would make a direct impact and not deal with these BS "non-profit" organizations & charities that are riddled with buearocracy, loopholes and embezzlement.
Wanna see a real philantropist? Look up the founder of Wikipedia.
. If it were me, I'd invest the 29 million and with only 1% interest, I'd make 290,000 a month..use some of that to pay the house payments, and the rest to fuel my trading account/ living expenses.