Wouldn’t it be nice if billionaires spread their wealth? Who needs an 80 million dollar condo? One of our billionaire builders just donated $100 million to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. This after donating $40 million in 2012. He said he does not regret one dollar of what he donated.

His ex-wife made the pledge to donate half her fortune to charities. Jeff hasn't done that yet.

How wonderful for Sick Kids to get a donation like that.

Remember back when Amazon was a bookstore? What did they call it..."world's largest bookstore" or something like that?

Having made much more for others than for himself (he owns 12% of Amazon so others own 88%), I think he's earned the right to do with his money whatever he wants.

This is hardly unique to the US though we're a big market - if he didn't have the opportunity to take a risk and multiply or lose entirely the money invested, he might not have done it. Same is true for others - the potential for a big payoff, no matter how unlikely it may be, is what fuels the investments, the creative thinking and risk taking. Civilization benefits from the bold innovations and developments that started as an idea on a napkin in a coffee house or bar.

You can be sure an important part of his wealth will find its way to good causes. Where else could it go? Most highly successful people in the modern era limit how much is given to their children.

socks, last year Jeff and his wife donated more to charities than anyone else in the world according to this:

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos charities

Thanks for the info morz8, it's not a surprise to me.

Me too, Nicole. And fund lots of animal rescues.

Elizabeth Warren's plan to tax the uber wealthy might be a policy you want to support. From her Twitter feed:

We need structural change. That’s why I’m proposing something brand new – an annual tax on the wealth of the richest Americans. I’m calling it the “Ultra-Millionaire Tax" & it applies to that tippy top 0.1% – those with a net worth of over $50M.

The Amazon story will be taught for generations and generations. It has changed so much about our society and has sucked so much from the masses.

I don’t begrudge anyone who has worked hard and realized great success from it but I also think that while some of the practices that Jeff has used to earn his billions are legal, they are not the most ethical. . For example, I saw an article recently that talked about how Amazon will under cut prices on items that are selling well by the businesses it hosts. They then bury the competition’s shop in the searches so that Amazon will obviously get the sale.

One has to think a little bit outside of the box for this comparison to KB's post above, but Rockefeller did the same thing; predatory (undercutting) pricing and using the railroads/pipelines to destroy his competitors and preferentially move his own product, Jeff must have taken note. Big business is not for the faint of heart. But just like Jeff, Rockefeller donated to all sorts of good causes.

John D Rockefeller provided the single largest contribution to found the University of Chicago in 1890. In 1901, his money founded the Rockefeller Institute in New York City, the first biomedical research institute in the US. Rockefeller money, through the eponymous foundation and other means, has provided hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to worthy causes for over a century and continues to do so. Here's a little known fact - Rockefeller money funded Dr. ML King's efforts for years, and even paid for his funeral. I've read several books about the Rockefellers and I think I'm pretty well informed.

What's not for the faint of heart is talking about subjects when lacking real information about them.

It's nice that the uber rich are donating some of their money to good causes. It still doesn't excuse the methods they took to get there.

What's not for the faint of heart is talking about subjects when lacking real information about them.

Elmer, go back to the toddler room where you and the other toddlers can insult each other. You yourself have a weak grasp of many subjects yet feel compelled to comment. If you leave out Rockefeller's predatory practices which left small companies stranded, their employees actually hungry because the company could not move its product in order to sell it because Rockefeller had arranged different shipping prices, paid bribes, bought pipelines to starve out competitors, you are uninformed. I am aware of and applaud his contributions. I do not however turn my back to his dark side.

Americans shouldn't have to live on the whims of some individual's charity. This is the ultimate 'trickle down' nonsense.

Fair taxation funds public services for everyone. Those making money using national resources need to pay their fair share to support that nation. They can still give at will. One is *public*. One is *private*. The public funds are owed to the nation. The private funds are discretionary charity. They are entirely different.

Our current federal tax structure is ridiculous; we've returned to the days of the robber barons. This is a RICH nation that doesn't look it in too many ways, for too many citizens. We can't have our "One Nation" under these policies.

His business practices were legal and common for the era. And practiced by thousands of others maybe not all so successfully but many so. 19 th century conduct, whether social, familial, or in business, doesn't measure up well to modern standards. That's probably true for your ancestors and mine in different ways too.

I see you edited your words in your comment, in response to what I said? That's poor form.

Your personal insults reflect more on you than on your targets. Too bad, eh?

What would you do with such wealth?

I think that I would like to rehab houses & buildings in the city neighborhoods that are now in decline, but were once solid stock, without having to worry about raising rents to recoup the expense so much that they are no longer affordable to the residents.

Your personal insults

Not an insult, an observation. You behave like a toddler. Your poor behavior has been noted by others who have had similar observations.

What would you do with such wealth?

When I was attending nursing school there were many poor students, some with children, some just trying to support themselves. I'd like to provide more scholarships to help increase the number of nurses, and also so those going to school would not have to worry about the costs of their books, and daycare, and food.

Great idea, Lucille. I hear there is a shortage of skilled nurses, and the need will only grow in coming years, I think!

"Not an insult, an observation. You behave like a toddler. Your poor behavior has been noted by others who have had similar observations."

Everyone owes you a debt of gratitude for your perceptive and insult-free observations.

In the same spirit, I have an observation that's neither an opinion nor an insult, if there were such a thing. You sometimes don't know what you're talking about, that was what triggered my first comment. See how ridiculous your premise is? I say this as a public service, just like you suggest you do.

Another example not too long ago - you offered an outrageously inappropriate personal criticism about me and my own personal relationships. I responded I've been happily and successfully married for over 40 years and asked if you had a similar history, to give you standing to criticize me. You avoided answering my question.

Some days later in a different thread on a different topic, you mentioned your "2nd ex", suggesting you've been divorced at least twice. Or is it three times, or more? You're hardly someone to give others advice about relationships, given your apparent track record of failures. Or is that wrong? But you seemingly do think you know more than others on this topic too anyway.

So...right or wrong, I kind of look at it from the perspective that it’s not Jeff (or Rockefeller who are actually doing that donating. They may be the engine driving the train, but the money they’re giving wasn’t earned through honest competition (honest being the key here) While it’s money they’ve obtained legally, it was still obtained unethically and basically stolen off the backs of others. I have A LOT more respect and appreciation for those who don’t have a lot to give but give what they got with money they’ve earned ethically than that of some greedy billionaire who’s just looking for ways to avoid paying taxes on it.

I'm not one who thinks a label describing any political or philosophical point of view is a pejorative, so assuring you there's no landmine involved, KB,

If you're waiting for a political uprising of the proletariat, you're gonna have a long wait. If anything, many members of the working class in the US have over-earned in the past 50 years because of extortion of large employers by dishonest (and criminal) unions. And came to think of their above market earnings as an entitlement. They're paying for it now in the form of lost jobs and closed plants, and economic stagnation in many parts of the so-called Rust Belt. Someone who rode on that unionized factory worker hay wagon hardly can be looked at as having higher standards and more honesty than risk taking company founders and investors. But if you do believe it, great. I think your view isn't widely held.

Generosity of the wealthy can do far more than generosity of people of modest means. You don't need to agree with where the money came from if you find some sources distasteful, be happy about where it winds up instead.

PS - The "Giving Pledge" started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett has, I believe, in excess of $200 billion committed for charitable giving. Bezos is not shown on the list in Wikipedia though his ex-wife is. How do you feel about this, all mostly people with "new money" from the last few decades?

Elmer, your elitism is showing. I completely disagree with you, regarding the existence of unions.

Come on, sjerin. Try to disagree without a personal comment.

Look at the facts. How many automobile plants, vendor companies, and other manufacturing sites have closed in the so-called Rust Belt in the last 25 years? How many auto plants have OPENED in the South (especially Alabama) in that same period of time? Here's a list for reference. Why? Lower wage rates because of no unions, at least initially.

Both the Mercedes plant in Alabama and the BMW plant in S. Carolina have significant product exports, something that US brands DON'T have.

US auto assembly plants

Here's a Forbes article that talks about declining jobs and declining population in the Rust Belt as a result.:

Rust Belt Didn't Adapt

Base your views on information, not on emotion. And accept people who disagree with you. You're welcome to whatever opinions you want to have, agree or disagree with me. In this case, I think the effect of unions on job losses and plant closures in the North is pretty widely accepted.

It is true that back when (circa 1977), an unskilled union laborer in the steel mill was getting $8/hr while a registered nurse or a teacher who had graduated from a university, or a skilled carpenter was getting just about 1/4 of that. At at least one mill in my hometown, union employees could retire with full benefits (a pension and insurance) after 20 years -- age 38 for many. A tool & die maker could and did pull in $20/hr by volunteering for off shifts and weekends. Minimum wage at the time was $2.35 or so. One year, the union of another local factory went on strike over birthdays off with pay. These figures are from my family members.

The 2 safe foundries, the steel mill, the 3 paper mills, the can manufacturer are all gone now -- certainly not just because of union pay and demands, but also, it seems to me, because as competing businesses successfully arose in Japan, Korea, and elsewhere, neither the executives nor the unions had the imagination and flexibility to adapt and continue dominating the markets. And they didn't invest in their plants, so as they aged they were just abandoned.