
Apple CEO Tim Cook to donate his fortune to charity - altern8
http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/27/technology/tim-cook-wealth-charity-fortune/
======
vayarajesh
The world needs more CEOs like him. The CEOs of the largest companies of the
world have the power to really change the world by just donating the money.

Not everyone "can" or "afford" to think of rest of the world because they are
to0 helpless to give away the money instead of making ends meet.

It is really difficult to fill the shoes of Steve Jobs and get out of the
shadow, and not only he has maintained the dignity of what apple is but Tim
Cook has certainly made a name for himself and it is very nice to hear that we
have such good people in this world.

It makes me fall in love with Apple more. #Respect

~~~
hnnewguy
> _The world needs more CEOs like him. It makes me fall in love with Apple
> more._

Did you read the article, or just the headline? There _are_ more CEOs "like
him".

"More than a hundred" have signed up to give away their wealth to charities,
including Bill Gates, who started the pledge along with Warren Buffet. Of
course, around here Bill Gates eats vitriol, because of some business
practices in his history and despite his generosity and charity work.
Meanwhile, Apple openly conspired to keep industry wages low and gets
"#Respect"?

This is not to take away from what Mr. Cook has decided. It's great for the
world. But let's not put him on a pedestal without at least acknowledging
there are a slew of wealthy individuals doing this, some of them real pioneers
of the idea.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge)

~~~
bradleyland
I have to come to HN's defense here. This is an entirely unfair statement:

"Of course, around here Bill Gates eats vitriol, because of some business
practices in his history and despite his generosity and charity work.
Meanwhile, Apple openly conspired to keep industry wages low and gets
'#Respect'?"

There are absolutely some individuals who engage in this hypocrisy, but I
would not paint all of HN with that brush. Quite the opposite. I regularly see
posts downvoted in to oblivion for failing to compartmentalize opinions about
Bill Gates, Microsoft CEO and Bill Gates, Philanthropist.

~~~
hnnewguy
> _regularly see posts downvoted in to oblivion for failing to
> compartmentalize opinions about Bill Gates, Microsoft CEO and Bill Gates,
> Philanthropist._

This is probably true, but I can't recall seeing it in many threads _I_ read.
On the other hand, I've seen comments (albeit, downvoted), on these very
forums, calling for Mr. Gates' _death_. I'm serious. That's unbelievable in
what is otherwise a highly intelligent tech community.

My post probably comes off as "Who cares?", and that was not my intention.
This is amazing of Mr. Cook. But let's not attach it to "Apple is so great!"

------
jbapple
On page 263 of my large-print edition of the Isaacson biography of Steve Jobs,
Jobs is quoted as saying about Bill Gates, "Bill is basically unimaginative
and has never invented anything, which is why I think he's more comfortable
now in philanthropy than technology".

I don't know about you, but I'd rather be unimaginative than fabulously,
unimaginably rich but also selfish about it.

~~~
briandear
Was Jobs selfish? Or did he just not use his charitable giving as a means of
self promotion or legacy building? Fair question. We're assuming facts not in
evidence.

~~~
jbapple
I don't know what Jobs did with his money. I'm criticising his _values_ , as
described in this statement that clearly paints philanthropy as beneath him,
to those of Cook. Maybe he gave money away even though he thought it was
beneath him, but it's still disgraceful and loathsome to paint philanthropy as
a pursuit of the small-minded.

~~~
7Z7
>..clearly paints philanthropy as beneath him..

Wow, I did not get that from the quote.

~~~
adevine
"Bill is basically unimaginative and has never invented anything, which is why
I think he's more comfortable now in philanthropy than technology"

I certainly got from that that Jobs views philanthropy as the land of
retirement for the unimaginative.

------
tracker1
I like seeing these sorts of actions... I do wish that more corporations
simply operated a bit more even handed to begin with though.

As an aside, I really wish there was a tag in the headline when auto-play
video is in a link... I tend to open up several articles and the respective
comments in tabs in the morning... the chrome indicator helps, but would be
nice to know it was going to happen.

------
briandear
Interesting that the article mentions his orientation. Seems irrelevant to the
premise of the story.

~~~
AVTizzle
I don't feel it's irrelevant. Both anecdotes point to Tim being a progressive,
unconventional CEO.

I think it's great, and I didn't personally pick up on CNN trying to pull
anything sleazy here.

~~~
briandear
Being gay doesn't make you progressive any more than blue eyes make you
progressive. Actions are the key not one's genetic characteristics.

~~~
konmik
Why people believe it is something genetic? People are not animals, we're not
controlled by our genes. The difference between a dog and a human just can't
be counted. It is just psychiatrists pushing this idea that taking drugs,
violence and perversions are natural.

~~~
ceejayoz
> People are not animals

By every scientific definition, yes, we are.

------
borgia
Isn't it interesting that it's seemingly only self-made
millionaires/billionaires who are pledging the bulk of their self-made
fortunes away? That despite them doing this, we're not seeing "old" money
following suit?

~~~
Iftheshoefits
Bill Gates is not a self-made millionaire, if that phrase is to have any
meaning.

~~~
briandear
Was he born a millionaire? Define 'self made.'

~~~
Iftheshoefits
"Self made" defies precise definition. If you start with $999,999 and earn $1
by your own efforts, a strictly precise definition for "self made" would imply
you were a "self made" millionaire. However it would also apply to somebody
who started with $1 and earned $999,999 by his own efforts. Hence using "self
made" in both cases renders the phrase so broad as to be empty of meaning.

~~~
joosters
It doesn't need a precise definition. I think most people will understand what
you mean when calling someone a self-made millionaire. That's all that
matters: the phrase conveys a meaning.

------
brianbreslin
I am surprised that he isn't over a billion already. I guess the extreme
wealth of a few founders makes me assume "CEO of largest company in the world
worth 600B should be worth over a billion himself"

------
TestSnap
Actually, the world needs more people who think beyond their own family legacy
and consider what the world needs. Its interesting how you can look at people
today (via the media) and size them up as far as if they feel they are a
citizen of the world. Tim Cook clearly sees himself that way. The Koch
Brothers...not so much.

~~~
humanrebar
[http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-
visit/plaza](http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/plaza)

------
heavymark
This post says Entire which doesn't make any sense unless he means when he
dies. But upon reading the actual article it doesn't mention anywhere
"entire".

------
bshimmin
The headline here has "entire" in it - on CNN it does not. Makes quite a
difference!

~~~
gleenn
Perhaps CNN is actually being pedantic, be will be paying for his nephew's
college education first, and then the rest to charity.

~~~
forrestthewoods
CNN made a story out of something from Forbes, but what exactly isn't cited.
Nor does it appear to be available online. Maybe it's print only.

Suffice to say there's not enough information to say anything definitively.
It's not like Tim is paying for his nephew's college next week and then
donating everything to charity. One could reasonable expect this to be in
reference to his fortune when he dies. Not what happens next week.

But we don't know because all we have is a blog spam re-write of something we
can't see.

~~~
m_eiman
The Forbes text is here: [http://fortune.com/2015/03/26/tim-
cook/](http://fortune.com/2015/03/26/tim-cook/)

It's linked from the CNN piece.

------
Dewie
This should be good for the Apple stocks.

------
timepiece
Do LGBT orgs count as charity in his definition?

~~~
wmeredith
There are a variety of non-profits that serve the LGBT community.

~~~
tiempopedazo
In my book, LGBT orgs are political and don't get to be classified as charity.

~~~
ceejayoz
The Trevor Project, as an example, aims to reduce suicide in LGBT youth. If
"encouraging kids not to kill themselves" is a "political" act to you, I
really don't like your politics.

------
xxcode
Sorry if this is politically incorrect. I say this respectfully and with the
hope that it would be useful to someone who reads it:

People typically save money for their kids. The 'mothering' or 'fathering'
instincts are so strong that we protect resources for our progenys. It appears
that Tim Cook may never have a real progency. So what will he do with all this
money? He could give it to his nephew. Maybe. He gets a thank you card from
them. But his 'parenting' instincts are not triggered by it. So he has to do
something else with it, like donating it to Charity.

~~~
DINKDINK
Are you insinuating that he won't be having kids because of a weak correlator
(his sexual orientation)? Why not use a better correlator, that he's the type
of person that doesn't want kids?

------
mg1982
I don't understand the psychology of making billions of the backs of the
grotesquely underpaid and over-worked masses (Foxconn suicides [1] and
illegally mined tin [2] for example) and then turning around and saying 'oh,
this is too much for one person - here, you have it.' If you want to help
people or even just preserve the environment, why not start with what you have
direct control and responsibility over in the first place.

Fucking billionaires
[[https://youtu.be/iko4s3CfBi0?t=44s](https://youtu.be/iko4s3CfBi0?t=44s)]

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxconn_suicides)
[2] [http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-02-13/apple-
supply...](http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-02-13/apple-supply-
report-acknowledges-its-smartphones-and-tablets-rely-on-smelters-using-
illegally-mined-tin)

~~~
konmik
People will suicide if their families get money for doing that that. Stupid?
Sure. There is no slavery on Foxconn plants, anyone can go away and grow some
rice peacefully.

~~~
_cipher_
> There is no slavery on Foxconn plants[..]

While it's not slavery in the traditional way, it sure is when you pay workers
virtually nothing for a product that's overpriced.

Think a situtation where you'd be an administrator for Amazon and you're
getting $10/day just because you live in <x> country, while your other _only_
option is to - as you said - "go away and grow some rice".

While this is a completely legal action, would you say that it's also ethical?

But no, whenever a f*cked up situation is not near our own precious asses, it
doesn't matter. They can go out and grow some rice.

~~~
mcphage
The workers who manufacture the iPhones aren't Apple employees. They're
Foxconn employees, and Apple doesn't really have much control over how much
they get paid. I mean sure, they could say "here's an extra Billion, make sure
that the workers who build the iPhones get these"; I'm sure Foxconn would take
it, but who knows where it would go from there.

