> I didn't state that it was completely a cynical PR effort nor do I think it was, but it's a reaction to a guilty conscience nonetheless.
And you are pulling that theory completely out of your ass.
I highly doubt you have met Bill Gates or spent time with him or have the slightest idea about what his private thoughts are on anything.
Doesn't matter, you shouldn't trust billionaires period. Every single one has exploited people left and right to get where they did. They don't care one iota for you, why do you care so damn much about them?
Re:Just Be Rich
by qPM9l3XJrF on Tuesday April 13, 2021 @04:54PM
(#26799167)
As I said above: "Don't expect them to feel a sense of obligation if you're going to assume the worst about them just because they are rich."
You say that "Every single one has exploited people left and right", what evidentiary basis could you possibly have for making that statement? There are thousands of billionaires worldwide, could you name even 100 of them off the top of your head, much less explain how each and every one "exploited people left and right"?
Haters gonna hate.
>Haters gonna hate.
And if they didn't, billionaires wouldn't donate.
Re:Just Be Rich
by qPM9l3XJrF on Tuesday April 13, 2021 @07:47PM
(#26801138)
If your goal is to get billionaires to donate, hating them indiscriminately is not a good way to do that, since that means there's no incentive to give.
For what it's worth, though, saying "my mother inspired me to do this" is precisely what a PR flack would advise him over "I was guilt tripped into this by my critics".
He does routinely use PR firms for image management.
Positivity sells and human interest sells and giving his critics more airtime would not be advantageous to him.
Mark Zuckerberg did the same thing here - note the title:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10658787
>Note also that a few years ago when Zuck pledged to donate 99% of his money, the internet erupted in incoherent anger.
The comments above read more like coherent suspicion rather than incoherent anger.
>For the supposed PR benefits of philanthropy there is a shocking lack of good PR.
Bill Gates has successfully repaired his image since the early 2ks. The fact that Mark Zuckerberg didn't repairs his overnight after acting the way he did previously is hardly proof that it doesn't work.