Recent massive donations from billionaires are not for traditional charities but for causes reflecting capitalist and patriotic values: funding troops, children's stock accounts, and Olympic athletes. This trend represents a new form of pro-competition, pro-market philanthropy.

As described by Microsoft's President, corporate political donations are the "entry ticket" to the retreats and dinners where politicians spend their time. The check doesn't buy a specific policy outcome but provides the consistent access needed to build influential relationships.

Modern populists gain influence by creating organic content that captures algorithmic attention, effectively turning a small campaign budget into disproportionate reach. This bottom-up strategy bypasses traditional, money-driven political machines by treating social attention as the primary currency, not dollars.

The super-rich lose empathy not necessarily because they are bad people, but because their lifestyle systematically isolates them from common experiences. With private airports, healthcare, and schools, they no longer participate in or understand the struggles of mainstream society. This segregation creates a fundamental disconnect that impacts their worldview and political influence.

The focus of billionaire philanthropy has shifted from building physical public works (like libraries) to funding NGOs and initiatives that aim to fundamentally restructure society, politics, and culture according to their ideological visions.

Despite the massive growth of retail investing, politicians rarely campaign on platforms that directly address the interests of shareholders as a distinct societal group. This contrasts with other economic groups, leaving a large and financially significant portion of the population without direct political representation for their investments.

A critical flaw in philanthropy is the donor's need for control, which manifests as funding specific, personal projects instead of providing unrestricted capital to build lasting institutions. Lasting impact comes from empowering capable organizations, not from micromanaging project-based grants.

Rubenstein avoids political donations to prevent being blamed for politicians' actions, avoid accusations of buying access, and maintain the ability to bring Democrats and Republicans together for high-level initiatives.

Sophisticated investors like George Soros operate a triangular model for profit. A hedge fund makes financial bets, an affiliated NGO (like Open Society) creates bottom-up social pressure, and government lobbying ensures top-down policy alignment. This coordinated effort shapes markets to guarantee the hedge fund's returns.