Bill Gates - the modern day Robin Hood?

[stuie]

If he done nothing he'd still be slated.

To do something is better than doing nothing FACT. As market leaders his corp or him do not need this kind of publicity that bad.

I think all the negative posters on this thread need to ckeck out what they do for charity and until you reach the same level as Mr. Gates perhaps not be so judgemental about his actions.

Just my personal...

 

[silvia]

If he done nothing he'd still be slated.

To do something is better than doing nothing FACT. As market leaders his corp or him do not need this kind of publicity that bad.

I think all the negative posters on this thread need to ckeck out what they do for charity and until you reach the same level as Mr. Gates perhaps not be so judgemental about his actions.

Just my personal...

Stuie, If you read all my posts I never said it was wrong, all I said is IMO charity actions should be done discretly, and I know what scoobie said but one thing is legal publicy and the other one is media documentaries and all that. And, I pointed out that he is where he is due a not very ethic sense of business. My personal opinion, can I disagree with the lot?

And you don't have any idea of who am I, what I do or what I did for charity, money or action, so don't try to point at my conscience cos you probably would be suprised of my secret life

 

[stuie]

Silvia

I personally think that raising awareness is the most important part of charity fundraising and therefore having any famous person backing a cause will have a good effect.

I'm not pointing at your conscience at all, i am pointing out that when good charitable deeds are instantly condemned this isn't very inspiring for other people to back campaigns and raise awareness.

For example how would you feel is someone said to you that you do your charity work for gratification only, or Buckley was condemned for raising the money with So...

wouldnt really inspire you to carry on would it, same thing but bigger picture with Bill Gates.

 

[silvia]

Silvia

I personally think that raising awareness is the most important part of charity fundraising and therefore having any famous person backing a cause will have a good effect.

I'm not pointing at your conscience at all, i am pointing out that when good charitable deeds are instantly condemned this isn't very inspiring for other people to back campaigns and raise awareness.

For example how would you feel is someone said to you that you do your charity work for gratification only, or Buckley was condemned for raising the money with So...

wouldnt really inspire you to carry on would it, same thing but bigger picture with Bill Gates.

You don't undestand a word.
I give you an expample. Amancio Ortega is the richest man in Spain, he is the owner of Zara and he has loads and loads and loads of money. He has a big fundation and he is giving away lots of money and working in lots of fronts. We know it because legal publicy but you would never see a documentary in a media talking aobut it. If I was dirty rich I would probably do the same like this Ortega guy. That's what I'm defending.

And your comment to consciensce was a bit

 

[x-amount]

Silv, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at your opinion of Bill Gates.

First of all, you gave no idea about the extent at which he donates to good causes.

Secondly why do you think we all know about (some) of his charitable deeds? Microsoft is one of the worlds largest companies, and BG is one of the most famous people on the planet. He can't sneeze without it being news. You don't think he could subtly 'give away' the bllions he did without someone picking up on it?

Thirdly, what would be the point of setting up long term foundations (a more responsible thing to do rather than throw money at good causes IMO) if no-one knows about them?

You just sound like your average Microsoft hater who, sorry to say this, knows very little about the bigger picture, dare I say because it's 'cool' to hate big businesses?! (as they type on their Windows PC etc!)

 

[silvia]

Silv, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at your opinion of Bill Gates.

First of all, you gave no idea about the extent at which he donates to good causes.

Secondly why do you think we all know about (some) of his charitable deeds? Microsoft is one of the worlds largest companies, and BG is one of the most famous people on the planet. He can't sneeze without it being news. You don't think he could subtly 'give away' the bllions he did without someone picking up on it?

Thirdly, what would be the point of setting up long term foundations (a more responsible thing to do rather than throw money at good causes IMO) if no-one knows about them?

You just sound like your average Microsoft hater who, sorry to say this, knows very little about the bigger picture, dare I say because it's 'cool' to hate big businesses?! (as they type on their Windows PC etc!)

YOu can laugh as much as you want

 

[stuie]

You don't undestand a word.

I've understood all of whaty you've written, just cos I do not agree with you doesn't mean I do not understand.

And your comment to consciensce was a bit

You made that comment, not me.

And finally, i see no difference between Ortega and Gates whatsoever. Except you don't like one and you like the other

 

[silvia]

You made that comment, not me.

And finally, i see no difference between Ortega and Gates whatsoever. Except you don't like one and you like the other

think all the negative posters on this thread need to ckeck out what they do for charity and until you reach the same level as Mr. Gates perhaps not be so judgemental about his actions.

If I'm not wrong you were talking about conscience and, if it's not conscience I don't care, I still think this comment it's


The difference between Gates and Ortega is clear: one is publicing charity actions and the other no. Is gates better than ortega? Isn't it a personal option? can't you blame on ortega cos he is discreet?

 

[stuie]

You still know all about what Ortega does though don't you. Bill Gates just has a higher public profile and more money.

My comment wasn't aimed at your conscience, all i was trying to say that if the whole world condemned all charitable actions to be publicity and high profile people were scared of helping because of sceptics then the world would be in trouble.

I said that until your charitable input reaches the level of Mr. Gates don't be judgemental. Obviously none of us will ever reach that level so it wasnt a personal comment, just my opinion that people shouldn't be so negative about someone doing something so positive.

 

[CraigyB]

I think all the negative posters on this thread need to ckeck out what they do for charity and until you reach the same level as Mr. Gates perhaps not be so judgemental about his actions.

What % of his full wealth did he donate? Then we can all compare fairly.

 

[Drew]

I think all the negative posters on this thread need to ckeck out what they do for charity and until you reach the same level as Mr. Gates perhaps not be so judgemental about his actions.

What % of his full wealth did he donate? Then we can all compare fairly.

I'll repate what i said above ....

He says he'll give all his personal wealth away to good cause, but leave enough to provide his family with a good life

 

[silvia]

You still know all about what Ortega does though don't you. Bill Gates just has a higher public profile and more money.

My comment wasn't aimed at your conscience, all i was trying to say that if the whole world condemned all charitable actions to be publicity and high profile people were scared of helping because of sceptics then the world would be in trouble.

I said that until your charitable input reaches the level of Mr. Gates don't be judgemental. Obviously none of us will ever reach that level so it wasnt a personal comment, just my opinion that people shouldn't be so negative about someone doing something so positive.

I said I know about Ortega due legal publicy but try to google it and you'll see what you find. And probably Ortega is nobody in england but trust me, he is well known in spain.

Your comment sounded like pointing conscience and it sounded really bad, probably is the spanish sensibility but to be honest, what I understood is: look at your conscience and what you do for charity and then judge the others

 

[CraigyB]

Cool, I was wondering what the £400 MIL he is planning to donate in the next 10 years was in terms of % of his full wealth.

 

[stuie]

There's lots on the web about Ortego and his corp, foundation and charity have websites. He has a high profile in Spain agreed but BG has a higher profile worldwide. Refer you to x-amounts comment about not being able to sneeze without the world noticing.

 

[N8]

I think all the negative posters on this thread need to ckeck out what they do for charity and until you reach the same level as Mr. Gates perhaps not be so judgemental about his actions.

What % of his full wealth did he donate? Then we can all compare fairly.

I'll repate what i said above ....

He says he'll give all his personal wealth away to good cause, but leave enough to provide his family with a good life

And when he's dead he will have given everything to good causes he's promised.

Like i said before he has and will have given more to charity/good causes than anyone else ever.

....and still thats not enough for some spotlighters!

 

[gfunk]

I think that both sides of the arguement are pretty valid here, but are getting tangled by peoples opinions of personality rather than action.

What is not clear is whether the $400 came from Gates' own money or from Microsoft. I imagine this came from Microsoft. Nowadays corporate responsibility is huge so a figure like that is not suprising as normally it is tied in with a way for employees to add to the figure with maximum benefit. I PERSONALLY think that it is admirable to give such a large amount of money away, but that doesn't mean I think that BG is all sweetness and light.
BG's natural instinct (apart from being a IT freak) is as a busineess man, which he is very good at and so has made sh 1 t loads of money. I would imagine he set up his foundation so that he or the trustees have some control over where the money goes - we all have charities that we part
icularly feel strong about so I dont argue with this. What some people have issues with is the percentage that he has given away - this could be a good point but I dont think it is any of our business.
What we dont know is what BG gives privately.

Bill Gates is too easy to criticise, maybe he should remeber this, but I dont hear criticism of people like Bono who harps on about world poverty but is a millionaire - again too easy to critcise

There is no right or wrong here, just opinions, and that is one thing we are all allowed to have

 

[x-amount]

There is no right or wrong here, just opinions, and that is one thing we are all allowed to have

But then there are opinions based on incorrect assumptions!

(The $400mil came from BG's own personal fortune BTW)

 

[silvia]

But then there are opinions based on incorrect assumptions!

(

Do you have the absolut truth to decide if my assumptions are correct or incrrect?

 

[Drew]

After all has been said, i think my reference to Robin Hood is most befitting.

"Rob the rich and give to the poor"

I'm sure we're all agreed on that at least.

 

[stuie]

Do you have the absolut truth to decide if my assumptions are correct or incrrect?

Undisputed fact: No other person has ever given as much to charity as Mr. Gates.

Therefore your assumptions are incorrect.