The Giving Pledge mocked? Musk donated $1.95 billion worth of Tesla shares last year to unknown charities

Philanthropy as a subject is quite convoluted. Although some of the richest people on Earth often indulge in philanthropic activities and give away a portion of their wealth to charitable causes, it normally isn’t done out of the goodness of their hearts. More often than not, the global 1 per cent give away a portion of their money to avoid taxes. A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that Tesla’s chief executive officer, Elon Musk had donated a significant portion of his wealth to charity in the form of Tesla shares last year. Musk and his checkered past with charity Elon Musk apparently donated about $1.95 billion worth of Tesla shares last year to various charitable organisations. Furthermore, Musk donated about $5.74 billion worth of Tesla in 2021. In filings for both of these years, Musk and Tesla have not revealed the charitable organisations that were the recipients of Musk’s donations. Musk donated about 11.6 million shares between August and December last year, according to the filing. **Also Read: Elon Musk did not defraud investors with 2018 Tesla tweets, decides jury** Musk isn’t exactly known for his philanthropic moves unless he sees a particular reason behind it. For example, back in 2021, David Beasley, the director of the UN’s World Food Programme told CNN that it was time for the ultra-wealthy to “step up now, on a one-time basis,” and said that just 2 per cent of Elon Musk and Bezos’ wealth would go a long way to help end world hunger.   Musk responded to Beasley’s comments, tweeting “If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now,” he said about Beasley’s assertion.     In a follow-up tweet, Musk added that the UN’s plan must include “open source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent.” When Beasley took him up on his offer, Musk deflected. In a separate tweet, Musk shared a link to a 2015 Express report alleging that UN peacekeepers were sexually abusing children in the Central African Republic in 2014, adding the comment “What happened here?” Musk is one of the many HNI or High Network Individuals who have taken the Giving Pledge, promising to give away a vast portion of their wealth to charitable causes and help the destitute. What is the Giving Pledge? The Giving Pledge is a movement that aims to persuade very affluent people to donate the bulk of their fortune to charitable organisations. The movement was started by an organisation of the same name, which was established by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. As of 2023, 236 HNIs have signed the pledge and taken an oath to give their wealth away in pursuit of global peace, eradicating world hunger and several other issues.   Musk made his pledge in 2012, and joined the likes of Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan and Azim Premji.   **Also read: Mark Zuckerberg and wife to give 99 percent of shares to charity** Donations and Taxation Since shares donated to charities do not incur capital gains tax, as they would if they were sold, analysts have suggested that Musk may benefit from giving Tesla stock if he did so.   Elon also founded the Musk Foundation in 2001, which, according to its website, provides funding among other things for the “creation of safe artificial intelligence to benefit mankind." To be fair to Musk, in the past whenever his charitable donations have been the subject of a discussion, he has said that he prefers to remain anonymous when giving away his money. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.