top | item 25439180

(no title)

ebg13 | 5 years ago

> is it not more effective altruism for those like Bezos and Scott to keep their wealth compounding as effectively as possible, and then donate it much later on, perhaps in a few decades?

You can donate stock. Or, if desired, the charity can convert your cash back into stock. Or you can transfer the stock into a trust that the charity controls.

discuss

order

ve55|5 years ago

That's true, but a charity doesn't (usually) actually use the stock - they would sell it to spend it when they needed the money, and I think (perhaps I'm not correct here since I don't have data) they generally sell equities instantly post-donation, with the main purpose of donating stock instead of cash being for personal tax purposes.

ebg13|5 years ago

Many charities keep their resources in investment structures. These are often called endowments.

> a charity doesn't (usually) actually use the stock - they would sell it to spend it when they needed the money

It sounds like that means that withholding the money in order to make it grow better wouldn't actually help them then because then they wouldn't be able to spend it when needed.