Why There's No Such Thing as a Good Billionaire

Summary

The video script critiques Patagonia's billionaire owner Yvon Chouinard's recent donation of his company to fight climate change, suggesting it's a tax avoidance scheme. It challenges the narrative of 'good billionaires' and argues that such wealth accumulation is undemocratic and harmful, using Chouinard's move as a springboard to discuss broader issues of wealth inequality and the historical context of billionaire philanthropy.

Takeaways

• 📝 Patagonia's owner, Yvon Chouinard, announced he was donating the company to fight climate change, which generated positive headlines and reactions, including from environmentalist Bill McKibben.
• 📱 Despite the praise, the donation allows Chouinard to potentially avoid billions in taxes and maintains control over the company through a family trust.
• 💲 The Holdfast Collective, a 501c4 non-profit, will receive profits from Patagonia and can use them for political contributions, unlike regular 501c3 charities.
• 💵 Chouinard's move is part of a broader trend where billionaires convert their wealth into political influence while receiving tax benefits.
• 💳 The video challenges the narrative of 'humble billionaires' by comparing Chouinard's public image to that of Sam Walton, highlighting the irony of their wealth and philanthropy.
• 💰 The Walton family's philanthropy in Bentonville, Arkansas, is contrasted with the economic impact of Walmart, suggesting that their charitable efforts mask broader societal harm.
• 💴 The script criticizes the billionaire class for using their wealth to consolidate power and influence, undermining democracy and equality.
• 💷 Historical context is provided by discussing the 'Gospel of Wealth' by Andrew Carnegie, which influenced modern billionaires' approach to philanthropy.
• 💶 The video advocates for policies that prevent the excessive accumulation of wealth and power and calls for a more equitable distribution of influence in society.
• 💹 It concludes by suggesting that supporting billionaires' charitable endeavors, without addressing systemic issues, is insufficient and potentially harmful to societal progress.

Q & A

What was the main reason behind Yvonne Chouinard's decision to donate Patagonia?

Yvonne Chouinard wanted to ensure that Patagonia's commitment to the environment continued after his death, rather than selling the company to someone who might not share the same values.

How did the public and media initially react to the donation of Patagonia?

The public and media reacted very positively, with many praising Chouinard as a 'good billionaire' and celebrating the move as a significant step against capitalism and for the environment.

What is the Holdfast Collective and how is it related to Patagonia's donation?

The Holdfast Collective is a new environmental non-profit organization that received 98% of Patagonia's shares. It is expected to receive about a hundred million dollars a year in profit from Patagonia to use for environmental causes.

What is the Patagonia Purpose Trust and how does it fit into the donation structure?

The Patagonia Purpose Trust is an entity that received 2% of the voting shares of Patagonia, allowing Yvonne Chouinard and his family to retain control over the company.

How much in gift taxes did the Chouinard family have to pay as part of the donation?

The Chouinard family had to pay about 17 million dollars in gift taxes to execute the donation.

What is the potential downside of the donation as presented in the script?

The potential downside is that the donation allows Chouinard to avoid billions of dollars in taxes and turns Patagonia into a political influence machine, which could be detrimental to democracy and the environment.

Why does the script suggest that billionaires' donations to charity can be harmful?

The script suggests that such donations can be harmful because they allow billionaires to avoid taxes, amass political power, and perpetuate a myth that they are humble and altruistic, distracting from the systemic issues that allow for such wealth accumulation.

What is the significance of the Walton family's investments in Bentonville, Arkansas as mentioned in the script?

The Walton family's investments in Bentonville symbolize how billionaires can use their wealth to shape public perception and create a positive image, while also highlighting the destruction of other communities due to their business practices.

What is the script's stance on the concept of billionaire philanthropy?

The script is critical of billionaire philanthropy, arguing that it is often a PR move that allows billionaires to avoid taxes and increase their political influence, rather than a genuine effort to address societal problems.

How does the script connect the actions of Yvonne Chouinard to historical figures like Andrew Carnegie?

The script connects Chouinard to Carnegie by highlighting how both used their wealth to promote a narrative of humility and philanthropy, while benefiting from systems that concentrated wealth and power in the hands of a few.

What solution does the script propose to address the issues raised by billionaire wealth and philanthropy?

The script suggests that policies should be implemented to prevent the accumulation of such wealth in the first place and to redistribute power back to the people, referencing the New Deal era as an example of successful wealth redistribution.

Outlines

00:00

🌏 Patagonia's Donation: A Mixed Bag

The paragraph discusses the mixed reactions to Patagonia's billionaire owner, Yvonne Chouinard, donating his company to fight climate change. While many celebrated this act as a significant step against capitalism, the author expresses skepticism. Chouinard's public image as a frugal billionaire who accidentally built a $3 billion company is contrasted with the darker truth of his donation's potential to avoid billions in taxes. The author questions the sustainability of such a move, suggesting it's not as altruistic as it seems, and implies that this could be a strategy to maintain control and influence while avoiding financial responsibilities.

05:02

💼 The Holdfast Collective: A Political Influence Machine

This section delves into the specifics of the Holdfast Collective, a new environmental non-profit formed by Chouinard, which will receive significant profits from Patagonia. The author explains that while 98% of the shares were donated to this entity, Chouinard and his family retain control through voting shares given to the Patagonia Purpose Trust. This setup allows them to maintain control over the company indefinitely. The author criticizes this structure as a way to avoid taxes and convert a business into a political influence machine, arguing that it undermines democracy by concentrating power and wealth.

10:02

🏛️ The Walton Family's Influence: A Parallel to Patagonia's Story

The paragraph draws a parallel between the Walton family of Walmart and Patagonia's Chouinard, highlighting how both have cultivated images of humility and philanthropy. The Waltons, despite their wealth, are seen as humble and generous, similar to Chouinard's image. The author visits Bentonville, Arkansas, where the Waltons have invested heavily, creating a positive local image but also drawing attention to the broader economic and societal impacts of Walmart's business practices. This section challenges the narrative of billionaire philanthropy by illustrating the potential for such acts to distract from the negative consequences of their business empires.

15:02

📜 The Billionaire PR Playbook: A Historical Perspective

This section provides historical context to the billionaire philanthropy narrative, tracing it back to Andrew Carnegie's 'Gospel of Wealth.' The author argues that this idea of wealthy individuals giving away their fortunes has been used to justify and perpetuate economic inequality. It critiques the modern billionaires who follow this playbook, using figures like Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett as examples. The paragraph suggests that these acts of charity are more about self-aggrandizement and maintaining power than genuine altruism, and it calls for a societal shift towards more equitable wealth distribution and political power.

20:03

🎥 Call to Action: Demanding Change

In the final paragraph, the author transitions from critique to call to action. He reflects on the video's creation process, thanking contributors, and then directly addresses the viewers. The author encourages viewers to think critically about billionaire philanthropy and to support policies that prevent the accumulation of excessive wealth and power. He suggests that by doing so, society can reclaim power for the people and create a more equitable and just world.

Keywords

💡Patagonia

Patagonia is an outdoor clothing company known for its high-quality and often expensive products. In the video, it is highlighted as a company that has received positive media attention due to its billionaire owner's donation. The video discusses the potential darker truth behind this philanthropic act, suggesting it might be a strategic move to avoid taxes and maintain control over the company.

💡Yvonne Chouinard

Yvonne Chouinard is the founder of Patagonia and is referred to as a 'billionaire' in the script. He is portrayed as a figure who has cultivated a public image of a frugal, reluctant billionaire. The video questions the sincerity of his donation to fight climate change, suggesting it might be a way to avoid paying taxes and maintain control over the company.

💡Climate Change

Climate change is a central theme in the video as it relates to the reason given for the donation of Patagonia. The video suggests that while the fight against climate change is a noble cause, the methods used by billionaires like Chouinard to purportedly combat it might not be as altruistic as they appear.

💡Tax Avoidance

Tax avoidance is a key concept discussed in the video. It refers to the practice of using legal methods to reduce the amount of income tax that an individual or corporation pays. The script suggests that Chouinard's donation was a strategic move to avoid billions of dollars in taxes.

💡Holdfast Collective

The Holdfast Collective is an environmental non-profit mentioned in the video that was formed by Chouinard. It is one of the recipients of the Patagonia shares. The video implies that this organization is somewhat mysterious and will receive significant profits from Patagonia, which it can use to influence the U.S. political system.

💡Political Influence

Political influence is a recurring theme in the video. It refers to the ability to affect the decisions or actions of political leaders or institutions. The video argues that by donating to a non-profit, Chouinard has effectively created a political influence machine that can donate to politicians and super PACs without paying taxes.

💡Billionaire Philanthropy

Billionaire philanthropy is discussed in the context of wealthy individuals using their money for charitable causes. The video challenges the notion that billionaires who donate large sums of money are heroes, suggesting that their actions might be more about maintaining power and avoiding taxes than genuine altruism.

💡Democracy

Democracy is mentioned in the video as a system of government where power is vested in the people. The script argues that when billionaires amass wealth and convert it into political power, it undermines democracy by centralizing influence and decision-making in the hands of a few.

💡Public Relations (PR)

Public Relations, or PR, refers to the practice of managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization and the public. In the video, PR is discussed as a tool used by billionaires to craft a positive image and narrative around their actions, which can distract from the realities of their wealth accumulation.

💡Gilded Age

The Gilded Age refers to a period in the late 19th century when wealth accumulation was rampant, and a few individuals controlled vast resources. The video draws a parallel between the Gilded Age and the current era, suggesting that today's billionaires are amassing wealth in a similar manner and using it to consolidate power.

Highlights

Patagonia's billionaire owner Yvonne Chouinard announced he was donating the entire company to fight climate change.

Twitter and media celebrated Patagonia's donation as a significant move against capitalism.

Environmentalist Bill McKibben praised Patagonia's actions as potentially beneficial for the world.

The donation was criticized as a way for Chouinard to avoid billions in taxes.

Chouinard's public image as a 'Reluctant Billionaire' was questioned.

Patagonia has a solid environmental record, having donated over $140 million to various causes.

Chouinard's donation allowed him to avoid gift taxes that would have been due on a sale to his children.

98% of shares were donated to a new environmental non-profit, Holdfast Collective.

The remaining 2% of shares were voting shares given to the Patagonia Purpose Trust, controlled by Chouinard's family.

Holdfast Collective, a 501c4, can use its funds for political contributions and campaigning.

Chouinard's family will continue to control Patagonia and wield political power.

The story of Chouinard's donation was compared to other billionaires' similar moves, such as Barry Diller.

The Walton family of Walmart was used as an example of billionaire philanthropy with a darker side.

The narrative of the 'humble billionaire' was critiqued as a marketing tool to distract from wealth accumulation.

The concept of billionaire philanthropy was traced back to Andrew Carnegie's 'Gospel of Wealth'.

The video calls for policies to prevent the accumulation of excessive wealth and to redistribute power.

A call to action for viewers to support policies that promote wealth redistribution and societal benefit.

Transcripts

so Patagonia the company that makes

overpriced vests for Tech Bros who

pretend to be outdoorsy got a metric

fuckload of good headlines this month

when their billionaire owner Yvonne

chenard announced that he was donating

the entire company to fight climate

change Twitter exploded in Jubilation

The Washington Post said finally a

billionaire willing to smack back at

capitalism even the Beloved

environmentalist Bill McKibben said if

every company was as decent as Patagonia

the world would work better and people

would be cozy all winter now this is a

wonderful story I would love to believe

that there's a good billionaire out

there looking out for the planet from

atop his pile of money but you can feel

what's coming can't you I mean I

wouldn't be making this video If there

weren't a darker truth to expose am I

really going to do this am I actually

gonna disagree with Patagonia the media

and Bill McKibben a man I deeply respect

and admire and tell the world why this

feel-good story is actually terrible

[ __ ] yeah I Am Not only was this

donation designed to help chanard avoid

billions of dollars in taxes the fact

that it's even possible for a

billionaire to pull this maneuver is an

unmitigated disaster for the planet and

for our democracy and when we swallow PR

like this we are literally falling for

the oldest billionaire [ __ ] in the

book now a lot of people found this

story believable including me at first

because it fits chanard's carefully

cultivated Public Image he's been

described for years as The Reluctant

billionaire a Frugal rock climber who

just loved making gear for his friends

then tripped and accidentally started a

three billion dollar company people tell

stories about chanard eating cans of cat

food to save money and he famously still

drives a Subaru instead of a fancy car

the dude supposedly doesn't even own a

cell phone which is maybe why he doesn't

know that human food is just as cheap as

cat food you weren't saving money Yvonne

you were just being weird and as far as

corporations go Patagonia does have a

solid environmental record they've

donated over 140 million dollars to a

huge number of organizations promoting

everything from land conservation to

biodiversity to sustainable agriculture

to the end of fossil fuels now shinard

said that he wanted the company's

commitment to the planet to continue

after his death so instead of selling

the company to some Corner cutting

capitalist who would start powering the

fleece vest factories with coal and I

don't know cancel the Batgirl movie

again he decided to donate all of his

stock to a non-profit organization with

a mission of helping the planet in a New

York Times piece so glowing it might as

well have been written by his publicist

chanard said that hopefully this

donation will influence a new form of

capitalism that doesn't end with a few

rich people and a whole bunch of poor

people and his own accountant said that

he'll receive no tax benefit for his

donation whatsoever but if you want the

straight story about a Billionaire's

finances it might make sense to ask

someone other than the guy who cooks the

books for him the truth is if shanard

really just wanted to make sure that

patagonia's value stayed intact he

didn't need to donate it to a non-profit

he could have just given all three

billion dollars worth of shares to his

kid kids they could have kept running

the company according to Daddy dearest

wishes and lovingly rapped about him at

corporate board meetings so why didn't

he do that simple he would have had to

pay 1.2 billion dollars in gift taxes

and ivonne's a good billionaire so he

doesn't like paying taxes I mean why

should he have to pay for the roads his

products are transported on the schools

and universities his workers are

educated at the GPS system that he uses

to track his shipments and the

government research into heart attacks

and cancer that have kept him alive

until the ripe old age of 83. I mean

he's self-made right he did it all by

himself now I know what you're thinking

Adam he didn't pay taxes because he did

something better he donated it to

charity well let's take a look at how

charitable that donation actually was 98

of the share donated were given to a

brand new environmental non-profit he

formed called the holdfast collective

kind of a weird name sort of sounds like

a mid-2000s Brooklyn Indie band but more

about that in a second the other two

percent though were shanard's voting

shares these are the shares that let you

actually control what the company does

and these shares were given to something

called the Patagonia purpose trust which

is solely controlled by shanard and his

family what this means is that even

though all the headlines said shanard

was donating the company to charity he

and his family will continue to control

Patagonia forever you know I didn't know

that was how donations worked when I

donate my car to 1-800 cars for kids I

can't show up the next weekend and take

it for a joy ride but Yvonne and his

family can now the family did have to

pay about 17 million dollars in gift

taxes to execute this maneuver but don't

forget they already saved 1.2 billion

dollars by donating the other 98 to

charity so they came out roughly 1.2

billion dollars ahead that shit's not

even a rounding error so what about that

other 98 and who exactly is the holdfast

collective well they're actually pretty

mysterious they don't even have a

website and when you Google them you

just find a bunch of Reddit threads of

people asking what the hell is the hold

fast Collective but what we do know from

The New York Times is that the hold fast

Collective will receive roughly a

hundred million dollars a year in profit

from Patagonia and that they plan to use

that money to influence the U.S

political system see regular nonprofits

are what's called

501c3s

501c3s are required to use the money for

charitable purposes and are barred from

making political contributions but the

hold fast Collective is a 501c4 and that

means it's allowed to use that money to

donate to politicians super Pacs and

even to conduct direct political

campaigning and since it's safe to

assume that the Hulk fast Collective is

going to be basically run by the chanard

family considering they founded it and

control its money supply that means

Yvonne was able to take his three

billion dollar company and turn it into

a three billion dollar political

influence machine tax free he didn't pay

capital gains tax on the growth of the

company he didn't pay the income tax

that I would have to pay before I donate

to my favorite 501c4 and he definitely

didn't pay the gift taxes you normally

have to pay pay if you want to give

three billion dollars in money and

political influence to your kids that's

right Patagonia made the jackets but it

was the rest of us who got fleeced

that's a Patagonia pun let's be clear

because of their control of Patagonia

and holdfast shanard's descendants are

going to wield massive political power

for their entire lives they're going to

be invited to meetings with powerful

elected leaders they'll be flown around

the world to conferences they'll be

lauded as great philanthropists until

the day they die when their kids will

take over as money bags in Chief chanard

has turned his money into permanent

political power for him and his

descendants and I do not think he should

get a tax break for doing it and look

I'll Grant shanard's good intentions

here I think that in addition to wanting

to save money on his taxes he and his

family are motivated by a sincere desire

to help the planet and I think Their

donation taken in isolation will do that

but we can't take it in isolation

because shanard is not the only

billionaire pulling this move and the

other billionaires are a lot less cuddly

than Mr puffer vest for the planet let's

talk about a different billionaire named

Barry side the wonderful investigative

journalism outfit propublica did an

expose this year on side when he pulled

the exact same move as Yvonne he donated

his entire Fortune to charity but

Twitter in the New York Times didn't

throw a party in Barry's honor why

because the charity he donated to was

run by Leonard Leo the right-wing

activist who spent the last couple

decades stacking the Supreme Court with

radical conservatives you know the same

conservatives who recently overturned

Roe v Wade and banned the EPA from

regulating greenhouse gases cheering on

chanard's abuse of the system just

because you agree with his cause doesn't

make sense it's like cheering for a

baseball player who does steroids sure

it's nice when he hits a home run for

your team but when all the other teams

are doing it too you get your ass kicked

and it kind of [ __ ] the game up it's

also how to put this the opposite of

democracy see everyone sees the world

differently and everyone has different

needs and that means that no one person

has all the answers so the central

Insight of democracy is that we need to

spread power widely and diversely among

many different types of people if we

want to solve our biggest problems but

billionaires like shanard are doing the

opposite he's hoarding power even if he

feels that he's using it for good but

why should the owner of a fancy clothing

company get to decide what's good or not

why don't we all decide it together you

know maybe the billionaires could kick

in their fair share to a communal pool

of money we all contribute to and then

we could vote on what to spend it on I

don't know just a crazy idea I found on

this Dusty old scroll but no instead out

our system allows a few wealthy people

to amass disgusting amounts of wealth

and then gives them a tax break when

they use it to influence our political

system and that is no way to run a

society democracy only works when

everybody has a voice so instead of

applauding chanard we do a lot better to

take that power back for ourselves now I

think that argument is pretty

straightforward open and shut video

could end right there except that when I

posted about this on Twitter I was

deluged with hate from Angry billionaire

fans and I started to realize that

something deeper is going on here I mean

people really love this cat food eating

Subaru driving humble billionaire who

cares and they get very mad at you if

you criticize him I mean he's got a

great brand and people love it I love it

too I love my Patagonia jacket when I

wear it I feel like I'm in that Wes

Anderson movie where Bill Murray is sad

in the 60s no not that one the other one

no not that one the other one no not

that one the other that's the one thank

you all right there's three more though

but here's the problem that story that

brand isn't real it's PR it's marketing

it's spin baby let me tell you about a

little place called Bentonville Arkansas

so a few weeks back I was booked to MC

an event at Crystal Bridges Art Museum

in Bentonville a beautiful small town in

Northwestern Arkansas that also happens

to be the home of one of the most lavish

and expensive art museums in America why

there well a clue might be in the name

you see emblazoned all over town Walmart

Sam Walton opened the first Walmart

store in Bentonville in 1962 and now

that is the largest retailer in the

world yes larger than Amazon its

headquarters are still in Bentonville

Sam Walton is now dead but his kids the

11th 12th and 13th richest people in

America have poured money into the town

they've built miles of bike trails all

around the surrounding area they've

preserved the beautiful historic town

square and they've built a 200 million

dollar Art Museum but that's not the

only Museum I visited in Bentonville

that weekend housed in a replica of an

old-fashioned Five and Dime Store is the

Walmart Museum a monument to Sam Walton

humility and humble decency they have an

exact replica of his shabby home office

which actually like brought a tear to my

eye because it reminded me so strongly

of my own grandfather's office when I

was a kid and according to this Museum

Sam hated money so much that he drove a

beat up old truck and to prove it they

put the beat up old truck in the museum

holy [ __ ] swap the pickup for a Subaru

and this could be the Patagonia Museum

now there's something a little perverse

in building an entire Museum to tell

people how humble and Thrifty you are

but it works people in this town Love

The Waltons and when I struck up a

conversation with them they talked about

The Waltons like they were family

because of The Waltons investment the

population of Bentonville has sex tupled

property values have skyrocketed oh and

don't forget the world-class Art Museum

they built in town where Bentonville

residents can chill out and look at a

rothko listen to an artist of color give

a talk or visit one of yayoite kusuma's

famous Infinity rooms when I was waiting

in line for this exhibit I overheard two

teenagers talking about how they had

never been to an art museum before and

hearing that you know made my heart

swell up like this is a part of the

country that has been left out of

cultural investment for a century and

The Waltons are changing that that is

unequivocally a good thing but there's

also a deep irony in Bentonville that

makes visiting it almost creepy because

even though the Waltons have preserved

this perfect American small town they

only had the money to do so because they

have destroyed the downtowns of so many

other cities in America according to a

2008 study from MIT Walmart was

responsible for 40 to 50 percent of the

decline in small discount stores like

the ones their Museum was built to

resemble other researchers found that

when Walmart comes to town it correlates

with increased obesity higher crime

rates and lower overall employment in

that area and this proves that the

narrative Sam Walton spun about himself

that he never cared about money he was

just a humble guy who loved giving back

well it [ __ ] there are no accidental

billionaires the only way to make that

kind of money is on purpose this dude

devoted his life to building the biggest

most profitable company he could and

then he used that money to tell a sweet

and cuddly story about himself to

distract from all the evil [ __ ] he did

and even though I don't think the

average Patagonia wearer is a big fan of

Walmart it Bears pointing out how

closely the story chinard tells about

himself resembles Waltons The Reluctant

billionaire rock climber who doesn't

care about money drives a beat up old

car and loves giving back is a great

story but it's also marketing and

shanard tells it because it benefits him

and Patagonia to do so I mean how many

made in Vietnam puffer vests have they

sold over the years because somebody

looked at them and said hey he's the

good billionaire I'm gonna help him save

the planet hell if you go to

patagonia.com right now they are using

that story to sell you more overpriced

crap but look none of this is new the

truth is that billionaires have been

telling this story about themselves

since the first proto-capitalist took

his first quivering steps out of the

money swamp let's do a quick review of

the billionaire [ __ ] Hall of Fame

Mark Zuckerberg got incredible headlines

when he said he was donating his fortune

to charity in 2015. then it turned out

the charity was just an LLC he controls

that invests in for-profit businesses

for years people have described Bill

Gates as saving the world he even made

his own Netflix documentary about what a

generous genius he is of course that's

before we learned he's a Serial sexual

harasser who became best buddies with

Jeffrey Epstein after he was convicted

of sex crimes bill was like oh this

dude's a sex offender well what's he

doing Thursday and finally Warren

Buffett a man who Decades of PR have

described as so saintedly Frugal that

websites post listicles about how you

can live as cheaply as him with tips

like eat a cheap breakfast yeah I'm

pretty sure if I ate Egg McMuffins all

day it wouldn't make me a billionaire

I'd just have a heart attack I mean this

article literally says that Warren

Buffett Clips coupons no he [ __ ]

doesn't are you trying to tell me that

Warren [ __ ] Buffett gets up on a

Tuesday goes and gets the newspaper

office porch takes out the advertising

section and a pair of scissors and says

oh look Skippy is on sale [ __ ] you how

gullible do you think we are you know

how Warren really saves money by not

paying his taxes when propublica got a

leak of billionaire tax returns Buffett

was found to pay the least of any of his

fellow plutocrats dude made 24 billion

dollars between 2014 and 2018 and paid a

true tax rate of 0.1 even greedy little

piggies like Bezos and musk can't touch

that instead of paying the public the

money he owes us Buffett has famously

pledged to give away his money to

charity which charity you might ask oh

just the one is Buddy Bill runs with the

ex-wife he cheated on Wow billionaires

donating to billionaires brings a tear

to your eye doesn't it now if all of

this weren't enough for you it becomes

piercingly clear that the entire concept

of billionaire chair already is [ __ ]

when you look at where it originated in

the Gilded Age of the late 19th century

the OG evil monopolist Andrew Carnegie

wrote an essay called The Gospel of

wealth in which he famously argued that

is the responsibility of the wealthy to

give away their fortunes during their

lifetimes he even argued that as the

duty of a rich man to set into an

example of modest unostentatious living

shunning display or extravagance so

shinard and Walton weren't radicals by

driving beat up old cars they were

literally taking their instructions from

Daddy Carnegie now critically Carnegie

argued for that kind of Charity because

he believed that the system that gave

him such unimaginable wealth was a good

thing and that it was inevitable it was

just the way of the universe but even at

the time in the late 19th century

Americans knew that this was [ __ ]

they knew that Carnegie's wealth was the

result of a broken system and that it

came at the expense of the customers he

gouged the workers he exploited and the

political system he dominated a

political system that insured workers

had no right to organize no minimum wage

and allowed plutocrats to hire thugs to

beat the [ __ ] out of them whenever they

asked for their fair share Carnegie's

Gilded Age concealed a rot at the core

of the economy and in the years after

his death the country went through a

little something called the Great

Depression huh turns out letting so much

wealth accumulate in so few hands wasn't

a great idea the New Deal that Franklin

Delano Roosevelt launched in response

was strongly influenced by progressive

reformers who were alarmed at the

excesses of Gilded Age plutocrats like

Carnegie Roosevelt introduced stronger

labor protections a minimum wage strong

Anti-Trust enforcement so that

monopolies couldn't form and perhaps

most importantly a high level of

Taxation on the wealthy and it worked

the labor movement flourished which led

directly to the creation of the American

middle class average Americans average

white Americans anyway weren't able to

make a living wage save for retirement

and build wealth of their own wealthy

people still existed and they were still

able to make money but the age of

Titanic billionaires running the country

as their personal Empires seemed to be

over if you're trying to remember who

the Mark Zuckerberg of the 1950s was

I'll give you a hint there wasn't one

but over the following decades starting

in the 70s and 80s the policies that

created this incredible level of

prosperity started to be dismantled

deregulation of the financial industry

weakened Anti-Trust enforcement tax cuts

welfare reduction and the gutting of the

labor movement all contributed to

skyrocketing inequality most people

average Americans saw their wages

stagnate or fall but the rich did well

and the very rich did very well and the

obscenely rich did obscenely [ __ ]

well and the result is that today the

top 0.1 percent own nearly as much

wealth as the bottom ninety percent

today we are living in a new Gilded Age

in which billionaires are allowed to

amass massive wealth and then convert it

into political power tax-free so they

can run the country while everyone else

suffers and it's an age in which we

swallow the same tired myth over and

over again that these billionaires are

humble they don't really like money and

that they're Heroes for giving it away

in ways that just happen to increase

their own power and the purpose of this

myth this lie is to distract us from the

fact that this system is bad for the

planet and disastrous for our society so

no I'm not going to applaud shanard for

donating his money to the planet instead

I think we need to demand policies that

prevent guys like him from amassing so

much money to begin with and that put

power back in the hands of the people

where it belongs and I promise if we do

that and we can do it because we have

done it before

you can keep your jacket hell you can

get a few more jackets maybe you'll even

be able to afford an actual trip to

Patagonia instead of wearing it on a

logo you bought at the mall

hey guys this is the first YouTube video

I've done like this I want to thank Sam

Rodman and Brian Franz you helped me

write it if you enjoyed it I believe the

parlance is smash that like button hit

subscribe leave me a comment if you

enjoyed it if you really enjoyed it you

can support me on patreon at patreon.com

Adam Conover thanks so much for watching

see you next time