
Faux generosity: How Bill Gates bought his power and influence - AndrewBissell
https://www.mintpressnews.com/faux-generosity-how-bill-gates-bought-his-power-and-influence/263208/
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ve55
>if Gates is so committed to giving his money away, why does he keep getting
richer?

>he should not be viewed as a hero. All billionaires should be viewed as sick
in the head.

Is this really worth posting on HN? Sounds like a great way to disencentivize
philanthropy, reminding me yet again of
[https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/07/29/against-against-
billio...](https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/07/29/against-against-billionaire-
philanthropy/)

~~~
Joe-Z
Well you know what? Building massive empires while evading taxes, exploiting
unregulated markets or down-right not adhering to existing law and then
relying on „philanthropy“ to make the world a better place _should_ be
disincentivized.

That said Bill & Melinda Gates do seem genuine in their efforts and I think
it‘s great what they‘re doing. They just shouldn‘t have been able to obtain
such obscene amounts of wealth in the first place.

~~~
ve55
If Bill Gates had donated 100% of his wealth the instant he became a
billionaire, his total amount donated would be 1B, and then he would be broke.

Alternatively, if he holds onto his MSFT position and donates over the course
of his life, his total amount donated will be >100B.

~~~
Joe-Z
I don‘t care how much he donates. My point is exactly that we shouldn‘t have
to rely on one wealthy individual for anything. The money should‘ve stayed in
big parts with the people that helped build this wealth (i.e. employees) and
the ones living in the country which enabled this creation of wealth (i.e.
taxes)

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ratsmack
The only problem I have with the very wealthy is their influence on government
that the average person doesn't have. They can afford teams of lobbyists to
pitch support to provide loopholes to make themselves more wealthy. They can
influence elections through large donations to PACS that favor the wealthy.

Other than this, I really don't care how much money they have.

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jasonvorhe
Mint Press is known for publishing copy for Sputnik and Russia Today. This
isn't newsworthy nor does it belong on HN.

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jeramyRR
I don't believe Bill Gates has all this money on hand. He'd have to sell
massive amounts of shares to actually hold his wealth. Wouldn't selling his
shares to actually obtain that wealth damage the businesses for which the
shares are for?

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johnsimer
No, there'd be buyers for his shares, at the market value determined by the
performance and intrinsic value of Microsoft

The value of Microsoft has to do with the performance of its business, not the
makeup of its investors

~~~
jeramyRR
I meant more so in selling off large amounts of shares at one time.

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kova12
This is such a propaganda piece...

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zacharytelschow
Rich people get rich (outside of criminals) by enriching the lives of others
through voluntary trade. Get over it.

~~~
deburr
Oh yeah, I mean Gates fostered so much voluntary trade that his company faced
the largest antitrust suit in US history.

Super voluntary.

~~~
Huycfhct
He did say outside of criminals. Underhanded practices to remove competition
is illegal

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deburr
I don't see how this is relevant to HN. Just because it's a story about
someone related to technology doesn't mean the story has anything to do with
anything but politics.

