Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke • Hacker News Board

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#151

Post by zpeti » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:30 PM UTC

BrainInAJar wrote: post #59

dougmccune wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While many wealthy philanthropists enlist an army of publicists to trumpet their donations, Feeney went to great lengths to keep his gifts secret. Seems like that was by design.

> Seems like that was by design. It is. Philanthropy exists to launder the reputations of the rich, on the one hand, and are paternalistic on the other. The only things that get funding are things that can attract the attention of our "betters." If we had taxed them on the front end to the point they couldn't become billionaires in the first place then people in general (through democracy) can decide what causes are…

I am amazed at how easily you skip over the fact that this means government gets to spend that money. As if that were some ideal outcome which would solve all problems.

Which government exactly is it that you think is excellent at solving societal problems and spending taxes efficiently?

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#152

Post by r00fus » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:30 PM UTC

rabidrat wrote: post #120

kaiken1987 wrote: post #77

What he did was great. But for Forbes to say a man with 2% of 8 billion dollars is broke is a stretch.

The article says he put away $2m for his and his wife's retirement. While I agree it's not quite 'broke' in the classic American sense, it is .025% of his former net worth of $8b.

Yeah, the word "broke" is clickbait. $2m for retirement is more than most. It's simply "not extravagant" which I guess from the eyes of the wealthy class may as well be "broke".

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#153

Post by brundolf » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:30 PM UTC

read_if_gay_ wrote: post #94

yboris wrote: post #76

I humbly encourage everyone to make giving a larger part of your life. Consider giving at least 10% of your income to cost-effective charities -- because cost-effective charities can do thousands of times more good than merely regular charities. So your $1,000 donation can do as much good as $1 million, if given well. Join others: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/

That point about cost effectiveness is what always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when donating. I didn't realize people put lists of recommendations together, that's nice to see. But how would you go about verifying any stated claims?

This site ranks charities based on their finances, with breakdowns on different axes: https://www.charitynavigator.org/

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#154

Post by bogorman » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:31 PM UTC

The Irish education system was also transformed with his generosity. The University of Limerick is a great example. The story is covered in the video.

https://youtu.be/OMcjxe8slYI?t=1388

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#155

Post by strikelaserclaw » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:31 PM UTC

hirundo wrote: post #149

Compare two billionaires. One stops and carefully donates his money to have the most impact. He ends up "officially broke." The other doubles down on for profit enterprises, but focuses on those with the most impact, like electrifying a fossil fueled sector of the economy or making us a multi-planetary species. The profits are reinvested to accomplish these goals. He ends up richer than ever. It isn't clear that the…

yea but who knows how your money is going to be used once you are dead.

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#156

Post by mrastro » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:31 PM UTC

kaiken1987 wrote: post #77

What he did was great. But for Forbes to say a man with 2% of 8 billion dollars is broke is a stretch.

2 million is only 0.025% of 8 billion. It's a bit of editorializing to call it "broke" but donating such a huge percentage of his net worth is commendable and he will be living a relatively much more modest lifestyle.

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#157

Post by olivermarks » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:32 PM UTC

anonAndOn wrote: post #146

Mark Benioff donated $100M to the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and got his name on the INSTITUTION (not just a building). What many don't know is that donation was to complete a match of $125M offered by Chuck Feeney (who does not have his name on a building anywhere on the campus, AFAIK).[0]. That $125M was only part of the $394M Chuck ended up giving to UCSF.[1] [0] https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/finance/uc…

Feeney is a wonderful human being!

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#158

Post by FeepingCreature » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:32 PM UTC

read_if_gay_ wrote: post #94

yboris wrote: post #76

I humbly encourage everyone to make giving a larger part of your life. Consider giving at least 10% of your income to cost-effective charities -- because cost-effective charities can do thousands of times more good than merely regular charities. So your $1,000 donation can do as much good as $1 million, if given well. Join others: https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/

That point about cost effectiveness is what always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when donating. I didn't realize people put lists of recommendations together, that's nice to see. But how would you go about verifying any stated claims?

Givewell's process is detailed at https://www.givewell.org/how-we-work/process

It's very plausible to disagree with some of their choices. For instance, you might be interested in efficient charitable giving within your country, and bite the bullet of "this means I value starving africans a lot less." The important part is to prompt charities to document costs and outcomes in general (preferably to a scientific standard), so that people can make more informed choices about their donations no matter their values.

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#159

Post by switch11 » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:33 PM UTC

hirundo wrote: post #149

Compare two billionaires. One stops and carefully donates his money to have the most impact. He ends up "officially broke." The other doubles down on for profit enterprises, but focuses on those with the most impact, like electrifying a fossil fueled sector of the economy or making us a multi-planetary species. The profits are reinvested to accomplish these goals. He ends up richer than ever. It isn't clear that the…

can we please keep the pro Tesla posts on Tesla threads

For God's Sake

Let this great guy who gave away $8 billion of his hard earned money get proper credit without dragging a @#$#$ subsidy entrepreneur into it

Re: Chuck Feeney Is Now Officially Broke

#160

Post by superasn » Tue, Sep 15, 2020, 6:33 PM UTC

Is a person who invests that money for-profit but makes giant advancements in maths/science while doing it an equally big giver?

Take for example, Elon musk. Even though he hasn't given monet away to charities like Chuck, his for-profit enterprises like electric cars, solar farms, spacex and possibly neuralink might just have been things that end up equally great for humanity.

So if you have billions I guess timtowtdi.