• jonne@infosec.pub
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    2 hours ago

    I mean, the thing is that a donation to philanthropy is tax deductible, so even if you control the charity 100%, it counts. Instead of paying taxes, you’re just paying yourself. And once it’s in that charity, you can use that money for any charitable cause, even if that cause benefits the non-charitable side of your portfolio. This means that you can

    • pay for your own PR
    • use the charity money to buy a bunch of medicine to eradicate some disease, while you have investments in the pharma company that will provide said medicine
    • donate to academia to steer research goals and then become a early investor in any spinoff companies that result from that
    • donate to a charity run by a politician/other rich person to curry favour

    It’s not a coincidence he’s become richer despite ‘donating his wealth’.