"Old money" vs "New money"

[Indy Texas]

Compare the old industrialist families of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the finance/high-tech "masters of the universe" of this century.

The Rockefellers, the Astors, etc funded public parks, museums, and libraries for the public benefit. Silicon Valley venture capitalists just charter helicopters for themselves when BART is shut down; screw the proles.

Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, William Marsh Rice and others started universities that would educate thousands of students and produce research that benefited the country and the world. Peter Thiel would rather pay people not to go to college.

There is a difference between the attitude that wealth is something requiring stewardship and intergenerational social obligations (both to one's family and to society as a whole) and the attitude that wealth is the spoils of a Darwinian death match and proof that you are a "winner" who is 100% responsible for your success and the "losers" in their tract houses with the underwater mortgages are completely to blame for their failure not to enter the ranks of the One Percent and deserve nothing from you.

[Indy Texas]

The Rockefellers, the Astors, etc funded public parks, museums, and libraries for the public benefit. Silicon Valley venture capitalists just charter helicopters for themselves when BART is shut down; screw the proles.

An interesting take on modern tech billionaires. Thankfully, it's a take that's entirely incorrect. Bill Gates alone has donated $28B to charity.

It's worth pointing out that Bill Gates, while his fortune is self-made, did come from a well-to-do family. His father is one of the most ardent advocates of keeping the estate tax in place.

Supposedly, part of the acrimony between Gates and Steve Jobs stemmed from Jobs perceiving Bill Gates as being more interested in philanthropy and noblesse oblige than in being a tech innovator, and Gates thinking Jobs lacked a sense of civic duty.

[Indy Texas]

Supposedly, part of the acrimony between Gates and Steve Jobs stemmed from Jobs perceiving Bill Gates as being more interested in philanthropy and noblesse oblige than in being a tech innovator, and Gates thinking Jobs lacked a sense of civic duty.

Indy, I'd actually like to learn more about this.  Can you tell me where you got this story or where I could find out more about it?

I recall reading it in a longform article about Jobs in one of the big business mags not long after he died. I'll try to find it if I can.