People make much of the "charitable giving" of the rich, which has been seen as a legitimizer of their extreme wealth and privilege. They have much, and so the presumption goes, they give something back.
Alas, it is never that simple. A rich person may well have altruistic impulses. But it is also the case that charitable giving is, at a certain level of that activity open only to the rich, a matter of tax break and tax shelter, good public relations, occasion for "conspicuous" consumption and display of wealth, and opportunity for social networking--while the donations and institutions involved are often levers of power with which to advance more self-interested agendas. (Thus do the "charitable" foundations of a certain "tech billionaire," through their activity, serve to defend the intellectual property regime on which his wealth is based.) They even get from their "charitable" activities an excuse to hang out with the likes of a Jeffrey Epstein (after which the individuals in question say "I went there only for my foundation, I didn't have any idea tthat guy was into all that stuff").
It is all as far from the ideal of selfless giving as one can imagine--in each and every way the conduct of the hypocrites of whom the Apostle Matthew spoke, who here "have their reward" (in extreme abundance). Still, never missing a chance to remind everyone of what they truly are, the commentariat will so insistently call them "philanthropist" for it that the gullible believe it all an expression of their love of humanity.
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