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Comment by legohead | Hacker News Reader

What I dislike about Jobs was his lack of philanthropism. He had all the money in the world and gave away nothing, which means he didn't give a shit about the rest of the world. He was approached by Gates as part of the Giving Pledge and declined.

Then his decision of alternative medicine to treat his curable cancer. He created technology that touched millions if not billions of people, and a lot of those are kids who probably looked up to him, and then he does stupid shit like that which will influence them in a bad way.

Yes, people are free to do what they want, but I'm also free to call out their stupidity and selfishness.

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Jobs gave away plenty, he just did it privately.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/471410/20130527/steve-jobs-la...

And in any event, 95% of the people criticizing him for this have not given enough of themselves to be justified in doing so.

Hypocrisy, though not exactly admirable, is not equal to falsehood.

I may be wrong about this, but I believe that Steve Jobs did give away quite a bit of money. I think he always did it anonymously, which, if true I admire much more than someone who has a lot of pomp and circumstance around their philanthropic activities. I cant say this with certainty though, but few people really know what he did with his money so Im in no position to judge...

In case there's an interest, here's an article that discusses what is known.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/471410/20130527/steve-jobs-la...

I admire much more than someone who has a lot of pomp and circumstance around their philanthropic activities

Why? People who make a big deal about their philanthropy often do so in order to encourage others to join the cause. How is that in any way a bad thing?

I think that some people may flaunt their philanthropy as a trophy of what a "great person" they are. I personally think there are ways to encourage people to join/support a cause without flaunting the XX millions of dollars you have given to it.

I admire someone who supports a cause because they believe in it and not for the kudos the support may bring them. That isn't to say that I don't admire the super wealthy like Bill Gates and his philanthropic causes. I am really glad he has dedicated such a large chunk of wealth to humanitarian causes.

I think that some people may flaunt their philanthropy as a trophy of what a "great person" they are

Do you have an example of someone like this? Someone who flaunts philanthropy and actual harm occurs as a consequence of this?

Unfortunately, you are incorrect about him giving nothing. He gave away millions.

As for his poor choice regarding his health, it's a bit unclear how that will wrongly influence people. He eventually realized he was wrong and had the operation. The delay may have cost him his life. If anything, he's the poster child on the dangers of waiting too long for treatment.

He gave away a ton of money, and so did (and does) his wife.

He just didn't make a big deal about it.

I don't think we should forget about the positive impact he made on the world through the creation of all that wealth. He has helped transform personal computers (Apple, Next), the music industry (iTunes, iPod), mobile phone market (iPhone) and animated movies (Pixar).

His fascination with alternative medicine is unfortunate but he paid the ultimate price for his beliefs.

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