Title: Who Gives The Most?
Headings: Who Gives The Most?
More From Forbes
Who Gives The Most?

Content: In some cultures, tradition dictates that the wealthy extend lavish hospitality in exchange for respect; this has the benefit of spreading food and resources around. In America, the rich seek to gain respect and admiration through philanthropy; this, too, has social benefits regardless of the givers' motives. A child getting an education at the Mary Smith Elementary School couldn't care less why she endowed it. To use a real world example, if someone is cured of malaria as a result of Gates Foundation-funded research, what does it matter what Bill Gates' motives were? In the end I don't think Americans are more generous in their hearts than other people, nor that they have more cynical motives than anyone else. They are responding, rather, to their culture. For all its polyglot shifting, U.S. culture is unique when it comes to a belief in philanthropy. It's a value that may be rooted in Christian tithing, but has spread to the secular world.