Stamos told associates he stepped back from leading the Observatory last year in part because the #political pressure had taken a toll. Stamos had raised most of the money for the project, & the remaining faculty have not been able to replicate his success, as many #philanthropic groups shift their focus on #ArtificialIntelligence & other, fresher topics.
After making billions in #TaxDeductible donations to his philanthropy, the owner of #Tesla & SpaceX gave away far less than required in some yrs— & what he did give often supported his #SelfInterests.
Before Mar 2021, #ElonMusk’s charitable foundation never announced any donations to CameronCounty, an impoverished region at the southern tip of TX that is home to his #SpaceX launch site & local ofcls who help regulate it.
#ElonMusk is under no obligation to have a #charity, & he has made clear that he believes his #ForProfit enterprises will change the world for the better far more than any #philanthropic venture could. But once he set up a #nonprofit & filled it w/ #TaxDeductible gifts, he was required by #law to ensure that his foundation served the public, & that it did not operate for the “private benefit” of its leader.
“The really striking thing about #Musk is the disjuncture between his outsized public persona, & his very, very minimal #philanthropic presence,” said Benjamin Soskis, who studies #philanthropy at the Urban Institute. Where other billionaires have aimed for a broad #impact on #society, Mr. Soskis said #ElonMusk’s foundation lacks “any direction or any real focus, outside his business ventures.”