Coronavirus: the well-supervised generosity of philanthropists and billionaires

Audio 03:33

By: Guillaume Naudin Follow

The covid-19 pandemic prompted many solidarity initiatives, particularly to help caregivers. Philanthropists and other billionaires intend to take their place there.

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The founder of the social network Twitter, Jack Dorsey , atypical boss of Silicon Valley, with his nose piercing, marked the spirits. He will donate a billion dollars, or 28% of his fortune, to works to combat the coronavirus and its consequences. For this, he sells his shares in another company, Square; Remember, however, that it was precisely because he was in charge of it that the other Twitter shareholders had threatened to land him recently.

On all continents

He is not the only one among the great American fortunes to announce substantial donations. Less extreme, the richest man in the world, boss of the giant of the online business Amazon, Jeff Bezos, announces a donation of 100 million dollars to the American food bank. One hundred million dollars, and even 125 for a few days, is the amount of the donation from the Bill Gates foundation to support the search for a cure. The founder of Microsoft even says he wants to invest several billion dollars in the research of seven vaccines which he considers promising. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, also took $ 25 million out of his pocket to seek treatment.

And the list continues. They are everywhere, on all continents. The richest man in Africa, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has led a coalition against the Covid-19 on the continent where the situation is worrying. There are some in India, the largest confined country on the planet and of course in China, the country where the pandemic started. Jack Ma , founder of the Chinese trading giant Alibaba, wants to supply medical supplies to all the affected countries. Beyond individuals, businesses are launched. Apple makes millions of protective masks. Just like the French luxury giant LVMH which has also launched into the production of hydroalcoholic gel.

A desire for control

These individuals and companies have their reasons for embarking on these operations. First, they participate in mobilization according to their means. And since they have a lot, it helps a lot. There is sometimes a question of image: showing that we are there when things go wrong. Remember the avalanche of international donations after the Notre Dame de Paris fire. There is also a tradition of philanthropy among those who can afford it. They can thus choose directly where their money goes and control almost personally what is done with it. It is more difficult when going through states. Some of these billionaires are wary of it and try to get rid of it more or less openly.

A war tax?

States nevertheless have the means to unify or coordinate these private initiatives. It exists and it's called tax. There are more and more voices rising to suggest to the states to take the opportunity to regain control over the tax plan. The generous foundations funded by the large fortunes we are talking about, benefit, at least in the United States, from significant tax advantages. The digital giants are not hiding from practicing tax optimization, while emphasizing its legal nature. Finally, the billionaires themselves could probably be taxed more. Some of them claim it elsewhere. Of course, like flying fish, they do not constitute the majority of the species, but it is nevertheless the case of Warren Buffett, third world fortune.

Since war is declared against the Covid-19, why not resort to a war tax? The idea is popping up all over the world, including in North America. In France, a country reputed to be creative in tax matters, some on the left are asking for a reactivation of the solidarity tax on wealth, at least during the crisis. Asked about this, Minister Bruno Le Maire explained that the objective of stimulating growth cannot be achieved through taxes. A few days earlier, his colleague from Action and Public Accounts Gérald Darmanin called for donations from businesses and individuals. In short, generosity and philanthropy.

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• Coronavirus
• Containment
• Solidarity
• Health and Medicine