There is enough money to feed and house every homeless person many times over

@samueltyler2 Some have also pledged to give away most of their money when they die. I believe the total value of pledges is >$500bn.

Presumably there's some kind of committee to decide what to do with the money.

@JonUK41 few and far between. I'd love to see what our political leaders donate!

@samueltyler2 Billionaires are few and far between so that's hardly surprising. There's not millions of billionaires out there selfishly holding on to their money.

As noted above the pledges received are over $500bn. Obviously we have to wait for them to die to get our hands on their money but this is a very significant sum. Hopefully it will be put to good use.

Our political leaders do not tend to be wealthy so don't have significant money to donate. Obama and Clinton have made a few million from speeches but we can't reasonably expect them to give that away. Trump is the richest President in recent times, he does seem to have significant wealth but nowhere near the level of the billionaires who have pledged to give away their money. Warren Buffet and Bill Gates could probably buy him 10 times over.

Hard to see what it is you actually want - maybe you could clarify?

@JonUK41 there are many more billionaires today than day 10 years ago. Besides Gates who gives a tim of money to help prevent hunger, promote life in third world countries, who else is as generous? I do see millionaires donating to the arts and humanitarian relief, but not billionaires.

@JonUK41 says
They may be rare, but their holdings are rather widespread.

The wealthiest 0.1% of US households (approx 133,000) hold approx 13.8% of total US wealth. These people each have a net worth of $62 million or above.

It would certainly benefit our whole society if the top 0.1% of households gave more for hunger, housing, and healthcare for the poorest.

@ElwoodBlues Issue is governments want economically productive citizens. People who excel in some field and have exceptional work ethic, those 2 attributes bring their own reward. Could be business, sport, entertainment etc.

At the same time governments want to discourage people who think if only I could get my hands on their money life would be good.

You eat what you kill.

@JonUK41 You really don't get it...

@SomeMichGuy Well that's OK then.

But I guarantee you my view is prevailing now and will prevail in the foreseeable future. Saying "you really don't get it" sounds good on the internet but doesn't put money in the bank or even food on the table.

Get the way the world is - not the way you think it should be.

@JonUK41 Ok, then please stop using socialized programs.

Stop using insurance (self-insure), and start right now by informing the SSA and Medicare that you're opting out, etc. Stop using subsidized anything (you can't do it)...

@SomeMichGuy I live in the UK, we have a different health/social security system so can't comment on the USA.

Who do you think pays for all these subsidies - is it poor people?

@JonUK41 Lmao You have insurance--self-insure. Opt out of the Health Service.

@JonUK41

No, they don't, of course not.

But the tales of the "self-made" are usually very tall tales. I know people born on third base who thought they were amazing players of the game...

@JonUK41 says Agreed. However, further tax cuts for the richest 1% may not be the way to motivate the bottom 50%.

In the US, worker productivity has been steadily ramping up; however wages don't reflect these increases. Purchasing power has barely increased in the last 50 years. This isn't motivating workers.



The bottom pay tiers are seeing little benefit for their work hours. A dissatisfied population with little to lose doesn't make for a happy society.

@ElwoodBlues If tax cuts for the richest would somehow motivate wage growth I'd be all for it. However, the top 1% have seen their "salaries" increase by nearly 2000% since the 1970s. For everyone else, it's been approximately 18%.

@iamthe99 Yes.

And trickle-down never happened.

@SomeMichGuy So far, Bill Gates is the only billionaire who has publicly stated what will happen to his money. Buffett talks the talk, but he needs to do something quick or he's gonna have one helluva tax bill when he dies.

@iamthe99 I bet Buffet has done it in secret.

@iamthe99 And remember, most of these bizarre ideas come from the same people who FIRST cut income to our Treasury, THEN complain about "the deficit"...

@JonUK41 I did, but as I said Bill Gates is the only billionaire thus far who has publicly stated what he will do with this money.

https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/media-center/press-releases/2025/06/africa-health-development#:~:text=He%20announced%20that%20the%20majority,over%20the%20next%2020%20years.

@iamthe99 No he isn't.

I've just given you the list of people who have pledged likewise. You should have known about this before you posted.

@JonUK41 Thanks for that! I recognize the father of one of the highlighted people...nice.

@JonUK41 pledged is one thing. Revealed is quite another.

We’ll see how many of these so-called philanthropists (apart from Gates) actually follow through with their pledges.