Take Bill Gates for example. He has accumulated far more money then he could ever spend on himself, so he went a different route and pledged to give much of his fortune away to causes he feels are worthy to give to. Remember, the process of Bill Gates giving away his money has spawned an entire business around that process:
I know I directly benefited from a Carnegie library as a kid. With philanthropy at this scale there is potential to benefit humanity in a way that may otherwise not happen. Compare this to other paths that wealthy people have taken, such as creating trusts that mostly benefit the family and still exist today (e.g. Rockefellers).
As for philanthropy, I'm reminded of a billionaire friend who said his fortune was more of an administrative burden than his business ever was.
An incentive to the egocentric. I don't think that is ever the primary motivator though. I'd like to believe most people just like helping others.
Not really a Softie to Softie comparison. The Gates give away more than a $billion per year.
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/Pages/foundation-fact-s...