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How Mark Zuckerberg's Altruism Helps Himself

posted by takyon on Friday December 04 2015, @02:29PM   Printer-friendly
from the soylent-pbc dept.

HughPickens.com writes:

Jesse Eisinger writes in the NYT that if you heard that Mark Zuckerberg donated $45 billion to charity, you are wrong. Here's what really happened: Zuckerberg did not set up a charitable foundation, which has nonprofit status. Instead Zuckerberg created an investment vehicle called a limited liability company (LLC) that can invest in for-profit companies, make political donations, and lobby for changes in the law. What's more an LLC can donate appreciated shares to charity, which will generate a deduction at fair market value of the stock without triggering any tax. "He remains completely free to do as he wishes with his money," writes Eisinger. "That's what America is all about. But as a society, we don't generally call these types of activities "charity.""

A charitable foundation is subject to rules and oversight. It has to allocate a certain percentage of its assets every year. The new Zuckerberg LLC won't be subject to those rules and won't have any transparency requirements. According to Eisinger what this means is that Zuckerberg has amassed one of the greatest fortunes in the world — and is likely never to pay any taxes on it. "Instead of lavishing praise on Mr. Zuckerberg for having issued a news release with a promise, this should be an occasion to mull what kind of society we want to live in," concludes Eisinger. "The point is that we are turning into a society of oligarchs. And I am not as excited as some to welcome the new Silicon Valley overlords."

Previously: Mark Zuckerberg to Donate $45 Billion Facebook Fortune to Charity

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by kadal on Friday December 04 2015, @03:21PM

    by kadal (4731) on Friday December 04 2015, @03:21PM (#271813)

    Vox had a similar explanation (http://www.vox.com/2015/12/2/9836884/zuckerberg-llc)

    One reason very wealthy philanthropists have traditionally set up charitable trusts is that they've been motivated in part by the desire to create enduring institutions that long outlive them. Things like the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Carnegie Foundation are still alive and well generations after their creation. The recent trend, however, has been toward trying to spend all the money within a finite span of time rather than creating an infinitely lived grantmaking institution. Under those circumstances, the LLC structure has a lot of advantages, and it's not surprising to see Silicon Valley donors starting to opt for it.

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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 04 2015, @03:33PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 04 2015, @03:33PM (#271817) Journal

    I thought you were talking about THIS Vox! http://voxday.blogspot.com/ [blogspot.com]

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 04 2015, @03:45PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 04 2015, @03:45PM (#271821)

      And that perfectly illustrates how distorted your perception of reality is. That whackadoodle is completely unknown to anyone outside his circle-jerk.

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 04 2015, @04:04PM

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 04 2015, @04:04PM (#271827) Journal

        And - how would YOU know? Are you the jerk in his circle?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 04 2015, @04:36PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 04 2015, @04:36PM (#271842)

          > And - how would YOU know? Are you the jerk in his circle?

          Because your constant jerking off here has splattered on all of us at one point or another.

          • (Score: 2) by zugedneb on Friday December 04 2015, @04:49PM

            by zugedneb (4556) on Friday December 04 2015, @04:49PM (#271849)

            and what have you contributed with?

            --
            old saying: "a troll is a window into the soul of humanity" + also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax

            • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 04 2015, @05:20PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 04 2015, @05:20PM (#271861)

              Surely you've noticed that username Anonymous Coward is the most prolific poster on the site.