Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was hospitalized in Mexico City on Wednesday due to a possible stroke, Mexican media outlets reported, but a TMZ report citing sources suggested the illness was potentially a less serious bout of vertigo.
There’s some historical context needed when it comes to the obscenely wealthy of the past.
The first thing to note is that styles and trends within philanthropy have changed over time. People today put more value on charitable works in fields like environmental protection or providing aid to people in developing nations. Looking back to the mid-20th century and earlier the great concerns were about preserving cultural heritage and supporting the arts. All of these are noble causes but cultural attitudes about which are more or less important change through the years.
The second thing to note is that mass communication has changed how the public learns about philanthropic work being done. I have never seen anything the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has done firsthand, but thanks to the internet I know about a lot of their work fighting malaria and providing clean drinking water. In the past slapping your name on a building was no different than Bill Gates putting his name and that of his (then) wife on the foundation.
There’s some historical context needed when it comes to the obscenely wealthy of the past.
The first thing to note is that styles and trends within philanthropy have changed over time. People today put more value on charitable works in fields like environmental protection or providing aid to people in developing nations. Looking back to the mid-20th century and earlier the great concerns were about preserving cultural heritage and supporting the arts. All of these are noble causes but cultural attitudes about which are more or less important change through the years.
The second thing to note is that mass communication has changed how the public learns about philanthropic work being done. I have never seen anything the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has done firsthand, but thanks to the internet I know about a lot of their work fighting malaria and providing clean drinking water. In the past slapping your name on a building was no different than Bill Gates putting his name and that of his (then) wife on the foundation.