I Like Him Better Today

[poliphilo]

I was asked in a survey for my opinion of the Virgin empire and I wrote (and I quote) "I can't stand Richard Branson; he's so vain".  This morning comes the news that Branson is planning to give half his fortune to help make an "equitable and peaceful world". and I regret being so mean.  Andrew Carnegie- the Scots-American steel magnate- used his fortune to build libraries. (There's a very handsome Carnegie Library- one of 2,509- just down the road from my dentist's in Royton.) "The man who dies rich dies disgraced," he said. It's an ethic that sweetens capitalism. Bill Gates started the modern fashion for philanthropy on a grand scale and other plutocrats are catching on. You want a legacy? You want to be remembered with affection like Carnegie? Then don't just sit on it,  give it away.

Comments

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

My other half very much approves of Andrew Carnegie, partly because he's a Scot and partly because a Carnegie Scholarship funded his doctoral research!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I was in Dunfermline a few years back- his hometown- and he's all over the place.

He was a smart man. I've been browsing through collections of his "Quotes" and he said a lot of pithy, memorable things.

[artkouros.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking of giving away my fortune when I die. It should buy someone a decent pair of socks.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

If we pooled our resources we could maybe buy socks for a couple of people.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Here in Philadelphia we're surrounded by the largess of the wealthy of prior generations. I would venture to say that most of the best work being done to better the social condition in Philadelphia is being done by private philanthropy, particularly the William Penn Foundation founded by the Haas family.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I prefer the socialist model- less haphazard- but my admiration for charitable individuals like Carnegie (and Gates)is considerable.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I prefer the private philanthropy model. The socialist model pairs involuntary donors with entitled recipients, to the betterment of neither group.

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

I learned to respect Branson when he said he wasn't going to leave his fortune to his kids. Spoiled brats with coke habits seems to be the result of too much inherited wealth. He seems to build his brands on the concept of fun, which is nice, but lately his promotional antics seem rather sexist to me.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Last I saw of him he was sharing a screen with David Tennant.

Yes, inherited wealth can be a curse. Just look at the Gettys.