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The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

independent.co.uk

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Re: The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

#21

Post by jmalicki »

bluedino wrote: post #8
helterskelter wrote: post #6

I don't know much about this guy, but I remember reading an interview with him maybe 15 years ago where he was asked if his lifestyle had changed since he came into money and if he bought a new house or anything, and his answer was basically something like: "Not really, and I've already got good water pressure where I'm at, what else do I need?" I can't help but like his attitude.

He apparently bought this place in 2016: https://streeteasy.com/blog/craigslist-property/

It is both absolutely gorgeous and luxurious, yet still at less than $6 million, pretty modest for someone capable of giving away half a billion.

Re: The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

#22

Post by WalterBright »

zuzululu wrote: post #15
WalterBright wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

America is the place for very few people to get wealthy relatively compared to the rest is more accurate. I don't know how long this asymmetric upside down pyramid structure will hold. Monopoly on violence requires participants to believe in its continuity, any fracture in perception no matter how small, will create an increasingly chaotic redistribution effect.

The top 1% of America pays 40% of the federal income taxes.

Getting rid of the rich is probably a pretty bad idea for the rest of us.

Re: The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

#23

Post by raybb »

rayiner wrote: post #16

We are almost two decades into the age of billionaire philanthropy and what’s results has it produced? Can you point to any area where it’s really changed the world? I think a fundamental problem is that the non-profit/NGO sector doesn’t have the same caliber of people as the private sector. There’s no Jeff Bezos equivalent working on inner city education. Bill Gates is really the only one who has tackled this, by in…

Sounds like you may have read it but the book Winner Takes All is about this topic and pretty enjoyable.

I think there's a case to be made that philanthropy produced the Internet Archive but maybe that's a little different from usual philanthropy since Brewster is very hands on for so long.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winners_Take_All:_The_Elite_Ch...

Re: The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

#24

Post by RankingMember »

ryandrake wrote: post #7

> “They told me that I should treat people like I want to be treated,” he said. “I should know when enough is enough. And they told me I should be my brother's keeper or my sister's keeper. And that made sense to me.” Refreshing to see a multimillionaire+ who actually knows the meaning of the word "enough." The world seems to be run by people who don't even know of the word.

This is a great reminder even for those of us who aren't multi-millionaires. It's easy to get wrapped up pursuing ostentation and even notoriety as elements of our culture hold it up as as goal to strive for, and I think it's important to see it for the hollow goal it is regardless of your income.

Re: The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

#25

Post by layer8 »

kaycebasques wrote: post #10

I'm curious about the logistical details of Newmark's donations. Skimmed the article but didn't see an answer. This is just a pledge to donate at this point, right? Newmark has not yet actually transferred any money? Presumably his trust would handle the transfer after his death or something. But then what exactly are they donating? Shares in a private company?

This article has a few details: https://www.philanthropy.com/news/craigslist-founder-signs-g...

Re: The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

#26

Post by skybrian »

rayiner wrote: post #16

We are almost two decades into the age of billionaire philanthropy and what’s results has it produced? Can you point to any area where it’s really changed the world? I think a fundamental problem is that the non-profit/NGO sector doesn’t have the same caliber of people as the private sector. There’s no Jeff Bezos equivalent working on inner city education. Bill Gates is really the only one who has tackled this, by in…

The Gates Foundation also put a lot of money into education in the US, but my understanding is that it’s had mixed results. Public health seems to be easier.

Re: The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

#27

Post by roksprok »

Craigslist is often held up as an example of a company "doing it right", but what is never mentioned in these posts is that a large portion of their revenue comes from facilitating scams. Around 25% of rooms/apartments I contact are scams, and Craigslist has so far done nothing to prevent these. A common scam is to take pictures from a real estate site of a house that recently sold and advertise it as for rent, but they don't even let you say "I live at this house and do not want to rent it, don't let anyone post it".

Re: The founder of Craigslist has given away half a billion dollars

#30

Post by socalgal2 »

jmalicki wrote: post #21
bluedino wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He apparently bought this place in 2016: https://streeteasy.com/blog/craigslist-property/

It is both absolutely gorgeous and luxurious, yet still at less than $6 million, pretty modest for someone capable of giving away half a billion.

[flagged]
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