Musk really donated $5.7 billion, but the money didn't seem to go to the United Nations Food Programme, but hired a top poker player to plan the money for him...
Event Review:
On 26 October 2021, UN WFP Administrator David Beasley appealed to billionaires to help solve the global food crisis. He specifically mentioned Amazon founders Jeff Bezos and Musk, who said "$6 billion could help 42 million people, and if we don't help those people, they're really going to die." ”
However, musk, the world's richest man, also has a clear meaning, I have a lot of money, but I am not stupid. Investment also depends on the financial report, such a large amount of money at least have to make a plan. On October 31, he tweeted:
"Publish your current and planned spending in detail so people know where the money is going." Spread it all out in the sun. ”
On November 15, 2021, WFP unveiled a breakdown of plans to use the funds, detailing how $6.6 billion could be used to prevent 42 million people in 43 countries from famine next year. The plan includes $3.5 billion for food purchases and $2 billion for cash and food stamps, which can also support the local economy. And appealed to Musk again.
According to a document released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Feb. 14, Musk donated a total of 5.044 million Tesla shares from November 19 to 29, 2021, which is worth $5.74 billion based on the average closing price during the period he donated the shares.
It appears to have been donated, but recently, according to the ABC, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley said that WFP has not received any donation news from Musk, "Millions of people around the world are on the verge of starvation." WFP's receipt of the money remains to be seen, but I'm excited to hear that Elon is involved, which is an amazing and great first step. ”
On this side, WFP said that it did not receive money, and on the other hand, there was news that the first leg of the huge donation was donated to a trust that did not want to be named, and Musk reportedly hired Igor Kurganov to plan the donation for him. It is reported that all of Musk's philanthropic initiatives such as schools near SpaceX Spaceport in Southern Texas, combating climate change and COVID-19, and a series of donations, almost all of which are in collaboration with Igor Kurganov, who is also the co-founder of REG.
What is REG?
REG is a charity founded by poker players, sponsored by Igor Kurganov and his girlfriend Liv Boeree.
REG was founded in 2014 to call on professional poker players to donate a portion of their winnings (tournament players donate at least 2%; Cash players donate at least 3%), and unlike general charitable organizations, REG Charity does not set up a fund, but works with other institutions to study how to donate and to whom.
REG raised $1.5 million in its first two years of existence. In 2017, after Kurganov won his first gold bracelet with Boeree, they donated 50% of the prize money to REG. According to Hendon Mob, Igor Kurganov has more than $18.7 million in tournament prize money, while Liv Boeree is also a god player, and in the past two years, the two have slowly reduced their plans to play games and turned to philanthropy.
But the question is, since all the money has been donated, why does the United Nations World Food Programme still say that it has not received the money? Where did the money go? In this regard, some netizens accused Musk of being opaque in this donation and did not disclose any details, and Igor Kurganov did not respond to this matter.
The fact that the United Nations World Food Programme did not receive the money was accused by charity experts of Being Not Transparent enough. They claim that the scale of the donation should be a matter of public interest. It was supposed to be made public, but Musk ignored it.
Others say Musk's donations are just a way to avoid taxes. Reuters quoted analysts as saying that Musk may receive tax benefits by donating Tesla shares because shares donated to charities are not subject to capital gains tax when they are sold. This point, for musk who is "fancy tax avoidance", is not unattractive.
Now it seems that the WFP's previous efforts have only been "making wedding dresses for others".