Billionaires who made massive pledges to help rebuild Nortre Dame largely haven't followed through

[True Dough]

There are better causes they could donate their money to, but they publicly chose this one. Yet most of them have been negligent in actually turning over the cash...

“The big donors haven’t paid. Not a cent,” a senior official at the cathedral tells journalists. Far humbler sums are sent in, from far poorer individuals. “Beautiful gestures,” says one charity executive, but hardly les grands prix.

That prompts a newswire story, after which two of the wealthy donors, the Arnault and Pinault families, stump up €10m each. Followed by silence. Questions I put this week to the various donors and charities went largely unanswered. (Perhaps their offices are busy or emptied out by the summer holidays.)

<snip>

“It is more blessed to give than to receive,” said Jesus. To which anyone surveying the Notre Dame debacle might advise the son of God to get a better brand manager. Because the billionaires who promised those vast sums have received all the credit while not giving more than a fraction of the money.

They have banked the publicity, while dreaming up small print that didn’t exist in the spring. As another charity executive, Célia Vérot, said: “It’s a voluntary donation, so the companies are waiting for the government’s vision to see what precisely they want to fund.” It’s as if the vast project of rebuilding a 12th-century masterpiece was a breakfast buffet from which one could pick and choose.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jul/18/ruins-notre-dame-billionaires-french-philanthropy

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. Shocking!....... nt

[madaboutharry]

2. Excellent article.

History is sometimes like Deja Vu.

[theaocp]

3. Besides billionaires, you know what else is cheap?

Talk.

[ck4829]

4. Kick

[dalton99a]

5. The Parable of the Disappearing Billionaires

But for now, let’s call this the Parable of the Disappearing Billionaires – a tale that goes to the heart of much that is wrong with modern philanthropy. Whether dispensed by the Sacklers of opioid fame, or sponsored by BP at the British Museum, it often comes on the terms and timelines of the wealthy, with the epic generosity hiding a much harder bargain.

At the time of the fire near the Seine, you could barely move for expressions of cashmere-clad concern. Take the family and foundation behind L’Oréal, who at the time declared how “touched” they were “by this drama that unites beyond cultures and beliefs [and] intend to take part in the collective effort and talents needed to meet this immense challenge, which touches the heart of our country”. As of mid-June, they had handed over a big fat zero. The same goes for oil giant Total.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive,” said Jesus. To which anyone surveying the Notre Dame debacle might advise the son of God to get a better brand manager. Because the billionaires who promised those vast sums have received all the credit while not giving more than a fraction of the money.

[Wounded Bear]

6. Once again, if you're surprised you haven't been paying attention...

Publicity achieved, let's go home.

[KentuckyWoman]

7. I don't understand why anyone gives them the good will on the front end.

The sticky stars should be handed out when the money is coughed up. We've had all of human history to get the lesson... talk is cheap.