
George Soros Transfers $18B to Open Society Foundations - troydavis
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/business/george-soros-open-society-foundations.html
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tommynicholas
These kinds of transfers point out two things to me:

\- (obvious) the ridiculousness of wealth accumulation. This is over-discussed
so I won't further that discussion.

\- The critical need for better philanthropy. Philanthropy is by and large
ineffective. I belive this is because it either isn't taken seriously (pet
projects) or generally has no feedback loop or accountability. The best
philanthropic organizations by impact are probably research universities,
organizations not designed to be philanthropic. That sucks!

I think for all the shit YC gets, this area may ultimately be where they make
they make real social progress. YC Research is interesting, but organizations
like Watsi and New Story are REALLY game-changing to me. They showed me a
model that really works, and I not only give to them regularly but also other
organizations I could find with a similarly direct impact (Brooklyn Bail Fund
is my favorite).

I think scaling real, accountable impact is a task my generation (I'm 29) is
really, really up for. I think we can do it. There will be a lot of shitty,
terrible attempts it but I don't think the attempts will stop and I expect it
to yield results. I hope that's part of our legacy as a generation.

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RickJWag
Thanks for highlighting Watsi and New Story. I hadn't heard of either before.

This is good!

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joering2
We need more people like him! I suggest everyone interested read his story and
how he came from poor to riches and now giving back to our society... amazing
humanbeing!

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vixen99
Check out for yourself some of the leads here before coming to that extremely
naive conclusion.

[http://www.aim.org/special-report/the-hidden-soros-agenda-
dr...](http://www.aim.org/special-report/the-hidden-soros-agenda-drugs-money-
the-media-and-political-power/)

~~~
joering2
Sorry but conspiracy theorists second coming of Alex Jones does not interest
me much.

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RickJWag
There is good and bad in this.

It's good that Soros sets an example giving to charity.

It's bad that his donations go to controversial recipients, including some
that ends up in the hands of those who use violence to further their causes.

Soros has been tied to racial unrest in the US, attempts to cause intervention
in places like Albania, etc. He is not a kind-hearted donor, he is a
billionaire with a decided agenda.

