After making billions in #TaxDeductible donations to his philanthropy, the owner of #Tesla & SpaceX gave away far less than required in some yrs— & what he did give often supported his #SelfInterests.
Before Mar 2021, #ElonMusk’s charitable foundation never announced any donations to CameronCounty, an impoverished region at the southern tip of TX that is home to his #SpaceX launch site & local ofcls who help regulate it.
“The really striking thing about #Musk is the disjuncture between his outsized public persona, & his very, very minimal #philanthropic presence,” said Benjamin Soskis, who studies #philanthropy at the Urban Institute. Where other billionaires have aimed for a broad #impact on #society, Mr. Soskis said #ElonMusk’s foundation lacks “any direction or any real focus, outside his business ventures.”
Corey Doctorow with one of his better analogies, this time on Republicanism. This is taken from a bird site thread on Lina Khan. I'll link to it in a comment below, because it's worth reading too. But I liked this one especially.