What is the point of grabbing surpluses and then handing them back?
Re: the note above about Foxconn workers, Cooks money comes from the market power developed by Apple which they can leverage on everyone in the system, consumers, workers, suppliers, distributors etc..
So he can leverage against Foxconn workers and then give $1B to charity - or he could not leverage, and double Foxconn workers wages. And that's just his comp, not everything else.
Now - maybe there is a theoretical greater efficiency in his charity work, and of course it's spent on 'his interests' not others, etc..
But the notion of 'giving it away' doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless that giving is frankly more effective than otherwise.
I think Gates Foundation for example is reasonable - a lot of philanthropy is effective in ways that governments and regular private corps are not - that makes sense.
But from a purely charitable perspective, it does seem a little bit odd to accumulate in one column on the ledger in order to put it back in the other column.