Jump to content
 Share

9 Comments

Recommended Comments

  • Popular Comment
Bill W

Bill W 47,268

Posted (edited)

  • Popular Comment

The word benevolence come from the Latin word benevolentia, meaning a favorable disposition or good will toward others.  The word's roots can be traced back to the Latin words bene (good) and velle (to wish).  

The first use of benevolent was between 1425-1475, the Late Middle English period.  

Edited by Bill W
  • Like 6
  • Popular Comment
Bill W

Bill W 47,268

Posted

  • Popular Comment

Some early benevolent societies in the US were The New York Orphan Asylum, The Free Creoles of Color (or Afro Creoles), as well as other groups geared toward Afro-Americans, especially after the ending of slavery.   More recent benevolent societies would include The Red Cross and The Lion's Club.  

  • Like 6
Bill W

Bill W 47,268

Posted

King Henry VIII wasn't known for his benevolence, especially with people who opposed his will or stood in his way, including his wives.  

  • Like 5
sandrewn

sandrewn 22,544

Posted

I've taken the three entries of Bill W and classified them as, good, good and not a nice person.

Once again it was change the site name and get the same old, same old. So I chose Wiktionary, no frills, boring and basic.

benevolence - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

This entry is a bit dated, some of the names and amounts have changed, I'm sure. It does my heart good knowing that the following 20 listed, have had/are having a positive affect on millions upon millions in the world.

The 20 most generous people in the world | World Economic Forum

Even if not named, we all know the names of those who are the opposite of those listed above.

 

:cowboy:

  • Like 4
  • Site Moderator
drpaladin

drpaladin 82,398

Posted

  • Site Moderator
1 hour ago, sandrewn said:

This entry is a bit dated, some of the names and amounts have changed, I'm sure. It does my heart good knowing that the following 20 listed, have had/are having a positive affect on millions upon millions in the world.

The 20 most generous people in the world | World Economic Forum

Even if not named, we all know the names of those who are the opposite of those listed above.

 

They certainly give away lots of money, but it doesn't really cost them anything. It doesn't lower their standard of living, and for the most neither their heirs. Some is self aggrandizing and to promote their own agendas. They do get generous tax breaks.

So I don't consider most as particularly benevolent. Some I would even classify as malevolent. But it's just my opinion.

  • Like 4
JamesSavik

JamesSavik 24,837

Posted

Beware of the government arriving to "help." Historically, their benevolence has mostly been violence.

govt-benevolence.jpg

  • Like 3
  • Site Moderator
drpaladin

drpaladin 82,398

Posted

  • Site Moderator

This calls to mind a marvelous short story by Frederick Forsyth, A Careful Man. In it a wealthy English man finds out he has a terminal disease. He wants to leave everything to charity, but he knows his greedy and litigious relatives will drain the estate with legal fees and then there are the death duties. His solution is ingenious. 

  • Like 3
Bill W

Bill W 47,268

Posted

9 hours ago, sandrewn said:

The 20 most generous people in the world | World Economic Forum

Even if not named, we all know the names of those who are the opposite of those listed above.

 

:cowboy:

I found it interesting to notice the names that WEREN'T on this list.  Missing in action were some of the wealthiest people currently living:  Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch  family (Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence) members of the Walton Family (Jim, Rob, and Alice), Jacqueline and John Mars (Mars candy), Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt (Google), and Jan Koum (WhatsApp) - to name a few of the Top 50 from the Forbes Top 400 Listing.  They may be benevolent, but I would have thought more of them would have been in the 20 most generous listing or this additional Forbes Listing https://www.forbes.com/top-givers/#3d52b85a66ff.  

The top four US states with Billionaires is: 1) California, 2) New York, 3) Florida, and 4) Texas - no surprises there!  

  • Like 3
  • Site Moderator
drpaladin

drpaladin 82,398

Posted

  • Site Moderator
13 minutes ago, Bill W said:

I found it interesting to notice the names that WEREN'T on this list.  Missing in action were some of the wealthiest people currently living:  Elon Musk, Rupert Murdoch  family (Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence) members of the Walton Family (Jim, Rob, and Alice), Jacqueline and John Mars (Mars candy), Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt (Google), and Jan Koum (WhatsApp) - to name a few of the Top 50 from the Forbes Top 400 Listing.  They may be benevolent, but I would have thought more of them would have been in the 20 most generous listing or this additional Forbes Listing https://www.forbes.com/top-givers/#3d52b85a66ff.  

The top four US states with Billionaires is: 1) California, 2) New York, 3) Florida, and 4) Texas - no surprises there!  

Well, you have to take into consideration those on the list are making a big production out of and shouting, "Look at me!" The others may well be giving, but more under the radar. In that case, the only ones who know for sure are the tax man and their accountants.

The big production thing was started by John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. It was good PR back then and still is today.

  • Like 3

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...