

Sam Simon, Who Helped Shape 'The Simpsons,' Dies at 59 - adamnemecek
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/arts/television/sam-simon-who-helped-shape-the-simpsons-dies-at-59.html

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MilnerRoute
What a great article. And this was my favorite part. After making many
millions of dollars from The Simpsons...

"Mr. Simon put his money toward his passions. He started a foundation that
trained dogs to help disabled people, including veterans of the wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan, and he gave generously to the Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, among other groups."

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shutupalready
An observation on what the super-rich never do for their legacy:

There's something that super-rich individuals can do that vastly richer
governments, organizations, and companies _can 't_ do. They can make long shot
bets. That is, they can invest in something that needs a large concentration
of capital (an idea, research, enterprise, discovery) that carries very long
odds but could have massive world-changing effects if it succeeds. Those are
things that neither governments (too many people need to agree) or companies
(no short- or medium-term profit) can normally do.

I'm avoid giving examples here because it'd detract from the point. Besides,
there's an infinite number of such long shot bets.

It's sad and ironic that people are more risk averse with what happens to the
money _after_ they pass away than when they're alive.

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EpicEng
Yeesh, that's a high horse you're on. He donated _his_ money to causes that
_he_ finds important, as you say. It's not always about the "big picture"; the
little things can change people's lives in the here and now, and that's worth
something. The world has room for both sorts of philanthropy.

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shutupalready
> _It 's not always about the "big picture"._

No, it's _never_ about the "big picture".

High net-worth people almost never leave their money to a "space shot" type of
endeavor.

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bsimpson
So Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson don't
count? Those last three are literally going to space.

How fitting to see so much horse-beating from someone called shutupalready.

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shutupalready
The topic was what people leave their money to (after death). All of the
people you mention are alive.

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mikeash
Is that important?

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Lewton
I cannot recommend the interview he did on marc marons podcast enough

[http://youtu.be/2lNgzZP4SQA](http://youtu.be/2lNgzZP4SQA)

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CurtMonash
I ran against Sam for senior class president in high school. The top way to
campaign in our school was with one large poster. I was, to put it mildly,
outclassed.

I actually outcampaigned him in some other ways. It didn't matter. His poster
smashed me. :) The guy was a serious cartoonist even then.

R.I.P.

