The Limits of Philanthropy
20th August 2010
Rich people typically become rich because they don’t accept the conventional wisdom in their chosen fields, being more ready to ‘think outside the box’ and achieve success thereby. But intellectually they’re as stuck in the box as everybody else. And it’s a pretty silly box.
Successful entrepreneurs-turned-philanthropists typically say they feel a responsibility to “give back” to society. But “giving back” implies they have taken something. What, exactly, have they taken? Yes, they have amassed great sums of wealth. But that wealth is the reward they have earned for investing their time and talent in creating products and services that others value. They haven’t taken from society, but rather enriched us in ways that were previously unimaginable.