In 2010, Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates joined the “Giving Pledge,” promising to donate at least half of their wealth to charitable causes. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg came to join the pledge as well, later promising to give 99% of his Facebook stock away.
But the “charities” to which the world’s wealthiest billionaires devote their riches are often not independent agencies devoted to achieving good things for the world, but rather private foundations or donor-advised funds (DAFs).
Even after technically giving away their money (and enjoying the tax benefits for doing so), these wealthy donors continue to exert control over the money that is legally no longer theirs. Their foundations burnish their images, allow them to gain political and other influence, spend lavishly on travel and staff, and enhance their power in other ways.
Should these “donations” continue to be subsidized by everyone else’s tax money, through the large tax benefits that come from what is supposedly charitable giving?
