Comment by zamalek | Hacker News Reader

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Comment by zamalek | Hacker News Reader

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One of these is unlike the others.

> Musk

Musk participates in disaster relief, education and The Giving Pledge.[1]

> Ellison

Ellison participates in The Giving Pledge. [2]

> Gates

Really?

> Bezos

Bezos supports the Dreamers (after some pressure, yes). [3]

> Jobs

Jobs shut down Apple's philanthropy department when we returned to Apple in 1997.[4]

[1]: http://www.borgenmagazine.com/elon-musks-humanitarian-effort... [2]: https://associationsnow.com/2014/09/larry-ellison-teaches-na... [3]: https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/jeff-bezos-first-big-charit... [4]: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/yes-y...

Philanthropy is not the only metric when considering if someone is a good person.

And admittedly I have no first hand knowledge into any of these people, only information provided from books, interviews and biographies so my impression of these people may not be accurate at all.

> Philanthropy is not the only metric when considering if someone is a good person.

And a biography is?

It would paint a more complete picture of who they are. Better yet, a personal diary or collection of letters (an autobiography gives too much room for the author to lie).

You can be an asshole of a human on some scale and still be a philanthropist. Human to human interaction has little to do with giving to charity.

It can also be purely rehabilitation for the image, as in the case of Alfred Nobel and his prize. How many people know about the Nobel Prizes? How many know how Nobel made his money?

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