Billionaire Philanthropy Reaches New Heights
The advent of the Internet has changed the way that people do business in the world. From expanding the reach of international corporations to making acts of philanthropy as simple as a touch of a button, the world wide web has certainly revolutionized every aspect of modern communication. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of modern 21st century billionaires such as Bill Gates, Bono, Paul McCartney, J.K. Rowling, Richard Branson,and a select group of other like minded wealthy philanthropists and advocates of humanity.
Philanthropy At The Touch Of A Button
Programs specially designed for the Internet, such as GoFundMe and many others, are making it incredibly easy for even the student on a tightly limited budget to pose for a day as a great philanthropist or cause advocate. Thanks to the advent of instantaneous Internet communication, money meant for good causes can be translated into action in the blink of an eye.
Companies, such as Bob Parsons Godaddy, have been able to bring about this miraculous upsurge in community good will and international philanthropy partly because of the Internet revolution, but also partly because of their own inherent urge to spread some of their wealth around. Not only corporate entities but even private individuals, such as J.K. Rowling, author of the world famous series of Harry Potter novels, have done much more than their share.
Giving It All Away, A Million At A Time
Certain celebrity philanthropists, such as the aforementioned Parsons and Rowling, have been particularly vocal about their philanthropic leanings. Indeed, these and a handful of other celebrity ambassadors of humanitarian good will have truly been seen to put their money exactly where their collective mouths are.
Rowling, for example, had previously reached the rarefied economic status of billionaire. However, she then proceeded to give so much of her new found fortune away to various charitable causes that she very soon was left a “mere” multi-millionaire. Others, such as Live Aid founder Bob Geldof, have spent nearly as much time jet setting around the world in the service of various humanitarian causes as they have pursuing their own careers as celebrity artistes.
Doing Good And Silencing The Scoffers
Of course, there will be scoffers who will maintain that Rowling and others of her ilk were merely cheating the tax man out of his feast by giving away excess money before he could lay his claws on it. However these scoffers would like to picture things, the true state of affairs speaks loudly for itself.
A Real Life “Brewster’s Millions”
Some readers may remember the classic film, “Brewster’s Millions”, in which a naive young millionaire is induced to give away his entire inherited fortune in return for an even greater one. While such fantasies may come true only rarely in the real world, it seems that there are a few wealthy philanthropists who are determined to reenact this classic scenario in real life.
Parsons is one of them. He has announced his intention to give away his entire fortune to various charitable causes, leaving him absolutely as broke at the end of his life as when he first came into the world. While such aims may be regarded by some as impossibly idealistic, it is nevertheless true that philanthropy and good will toward men have enriched our world immeasurably.
