Of course he also has no incentive to fixate on getting more money. The more wealth one has, the easier it is to accumulate more. Unless one is as foolish as Donald Trump, or trusts someone that foolish to manage their wealth which is basically the same thing, a billionaire’s fortune will grow almost automatically unless taxes prevent it (our effectively regressive tax regime encourages it). Unlike Trump, Gates isn’t a fool, so he can afford to spend more than almost anyone else on charitable causes through his and his wife’s foundation and still sit back and watch his fortune grow faster than even single-digit billionaires.
Most here know I have no special affinity for religion, but Christ’s teaching that a poor person who gives a little has a better shot at heaven than a rich person who gives a lot is a very socially responsible message.
Unfortunately, most of the people who will heed that message are poor, so the poor give a higher proportion of their meager savings than the wealthy, most of whom give enough to get a nice tax write off that often ends up costing less than the taxes would. And the prosperity gospel has gamed this behavioral disparity, convincing many of the working poor and pensioners to give their money to the wealthy.
