I think the key thing is that Jobs' wealth has been primarily paper wealth, tied up in Pixar. Pixar is the reason Jobs became a billionaire at all, and I'm not aware of him ever selling blocks of his Pixar stock.
Gates, on the other hand, has for years had a program of regular sales of large blocks of his Microsoft stock. He's much more diversified. And he was able to give large blocks of stock to his foundation.
If Kahney wants to look for stingy billionaires, he'd be better off looking at Larry Ellison, Paul Allen, Warren Buffet, Michael Dell, and Steve Ballmer. They have more money than Jobs, and no greater profile in charitable giving.
Come to think of it, maybe the difference between Jobs and Gates comes down to two things: the order-of-magnitude difference in wealth, and Gates' affluent family history.
by Jon H — Jan 28
Gates, on the other hand, has for years had a program of regular sales of large blocks of his Microsoft stock. He's much more diversified. And he was able to give large blocks of stock to his foundation.
If Kahney wants to look for stingy billionaires, he'd be better off looking at Larry Ellison, Paul Allen, Warren Buffet, Michael Dell, and Steve Ballmer. They have more money than Jobs, and no greater profile in charitable giving.
Come to think of it, maybe the difference between Jobs and Gates comes down to two things: the order-of-magnitude difference in wealth, and Gates' affluent family history.