Generosity?
Saw this article online today about the nation's Top 60 philanthropists.
http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2112694>1=6208
It's an interesting article talking about how many "gazillion fathillion yen"(dollars) were donated to various charities by big wigs like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. But while I admire their generosity, I hate the way they're called the 'most generous' philanthropists.
Why 'most generous?' The actual monetary sum of what they donated is the determining factor. While these numbers are very impressive, however, I personally do not think many (if any) of them deserve the title 'most generous.'
According to some Bill Gates fansite I stumbled across, Bill Gates is worth - as of today - something like $29 billion. Wow. His salary from Microsoft is maxed at something like 870,000, but most of his income nowadays comes from his stock in Microsoft (1.9 billion shares) and other investments/royalties. Another site estimated his total annual income (salary + investments) as $7.8 billion/year. Wow (again).
Let me pick on him for a moment. According to the article, he pledged to donate 2.7 billion to a (his) charity and made an actual donation of 627 million (I don't know for sure what the $3.4 billion dollar total refers to). His 'actual' donation is around 2% of his net worth, though his pledge/contribution total of $3.4 billion is closer to 11%. Based on his income, his actual donation is a 8% of what he makes in a year.
Does that make him one of the Top 60 'most generous?' No.
What about Oprah? She makes around $150 million per year. She gave away cars to her entire audience on her show this past year. According to the article, she donated $50 million last year. Now that's more impressive to me. That's like a third of her income (and she actually gave what she pledged).
Does that make her one of the Top 60 'most generous?' Maybe...'cause her generosity indicates there's more to her than just the dollar amounts.
This article does not address the countless people who donate more than 1%, 11%, or even 33% of their income or net worth in any given year. They go unrecognized because they don't make billions (or mere millions).
What about a family who can't afford to pay bills but still cranks out a tithe check to a church every month? What about people who have no money to give, but give of their time and energy? You don't have to look hard to see people doing things like this.
So why aren't people like this in the "Top 60 Most Generous People" list?
Don't get me wrong. I celebrate the fact that these millionaires and billionaires give anything at all. Admittedly, I'm more impressed with Oprah's giving than Bill Gates' simply b/c hers is a HUGE chunk of her income, whereas Bill's seems pretty small proportionally even though the actual numbers are higher.
Maybe I'm whining too much. But as I understand it, generosity is a character trait and not a 'figure' on a check. In my opinoin, there are a lot of people who give more generously than most people on that "Top 60" list and get no recognition at all. Where's the article for them?
"Jesus went over to the collection box in the Temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two pennies. He called his disciples to him and said, "I assure you, this poor widow has given more than all the others have given. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has." - Mark 12:41-44.
http://www.slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2112694>1=6208
It's an interesting article talking about how many "gazillion fathillion yen"(dollars) were donated to various charities by big wigs like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. But while I admire their generosity, I hate the way they're called the 'most generous' philanthropists.
Why 'most generous?' The actual monetary sum of what they donated is the determining factor. While these numbers are very impressive, however, I personally do not think many (if any) of them deserve the title 'most generous.'
According to some Bill Gates fansite I stumbled across, Bill Gates is worth - as of today - something like $29 billion. Wow. His salary from Microsoft is maxed at something like 870,000, but most of his income nowadays comes from his stock in Microsoft (1.9 billion shares) and other investments/royalties. Another site estimated his total annual income (salary + investments) as $7.8 billion/year. Wow (again).
Let me pick on him for a moment. According to the article, he pledged to donate 2.7 billion to a (his) charity and made an actual donation of 627 million (I don't know for sure what the $3.4 billion dollar total refers to). His 'actual' donation is around 2% of his net worth, though his pledge/contribution total of $3.4 billion is closer to 11%. Based on his income, his actual donation is a 8% of what he makes in a year.
Does that make him one of the Top 60 'most generous?' No.
What about Oprah? She makes around $150 million per year. She gave away cars to her entire audience on her show this past year. According to the article, she donated $50 million last year. Now that's more impressive to me. That's like a third of her income (and she actually gave what she pledged).
Does that make her one of the Top 60 'most generous?' Maybe...'cause her generosity indicates there's more to her than just the dollar amounts.
This article does not address the countless people who donate more than 1%, 11%, or even 33% of their income or net worth in any given year. They go unrecognized because they don't make billions (or mere millions).
What about a family who can't afford to pay bills but still cranks out a tithe check to a church every month? What about people who have no money to give, but give of their time and energy? You don't have to look hard to see people doing things like this.
So why aren't people like this in the "Top 60 Most Generous People" list?
Don't get me wrong. I celebrate the fact that these millionaires and billionaires give anything at all. Admittedly, I'm more impressed with Oprah's giving than Bill Gates' simply b/c hers is a HUGE chunk of her income, whereas Bill's seems pretty small proportionally even though the actual numbers are higher.
Maybe I'm whining too much. But as I understand it, generosity is a character trait and not a 'figure' on a check. In my opinoin, there are a lot of people who give more generously than most people on that "Top 60" list and get no recognition at all. Where's the article for them?
"Jesus went over to the collection box in the Temple and sat and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two pennies. He called his disciples to him and said, "I assure you, this poor widow has given more than all the others have given. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has." - Mark 12:41-44.
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