Facebook multi-billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is being celebrated for supposedly giving away 99% of his money, something over $45 billion.
That's an amount that could end hunger or unclean drinking water or homelessness on earth.
Click here to urge Zuckerberg to really give it away.
Don't believe the hype. "Mark Zuckerberg did not donate $45 billion to charity," writes the New York Times. "You may have heard that, but that was wrong."
It turns out Zuckerberg gave himself his money. He didn't even give it to a non-profit foundation. He gave it to a limited liability company (L.L.C.) belonging to himself.
His new company can invest in for-profit companies, lobby legislators, and fund political candidates. Zuckerberg has made clear it will do the first two of those things, and it's doubtful it won't do the third.
Tell Zuckerberg what you think of this scam here.
"He amassed one of the greatest fortunes in the world," notes the New York Times, "and is likely never to pay any taxes on it."
Zuckerberg claims he will pay capital gains taxes when the Facebook shares that constitute his wealth are sold. But if they are donated, he will not.
It's far from clear, however, how soon Zuckerberg will donate any significant fraction of his hoarded riches.
"A charitable foundation is subject to rules and oversight," says the New York Times. "It has to allocate a certain percentage of its assets every year. The new Zuckerberg L.L.C. won’t be subject to those rules and won’t have any transparency requirements."
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