Wall Street Tycoon Gives Away $800 Million Before Jumping to Death
46 replies, posted
[quote]
A renowned Wall Street tycoon gave away his entire $800 million fortune before falling to his death in a suicide jump this week.
Hedge fund multi-millionaire Robert W. Wilson, 87, leapt from the 16th floor of his luxury San Remo apartment building (pictured above), a prestigious address in New York’s Upper East Side which has been the residence of Steven Spielberg, Demi Moore, Glenn Close, Dustin Hoffman, Bono, Steve Martin, Bruce Willis and Steve Jobs in the past.
According to the New York Police Department, he left a note at the scene. He had suffered from a stroke just a few months before.
“He always said he didn’t want to suffer and when the time came, he would be ready,” close friend Stephen Viscusi told the New York Post.
"His plan was to give all his money away. He told me recently, 'I only have about $100 million to go.'"
He has since been praised as a "legend" by his peers, after pledging his entire worth to charity some years before he ended his life.
He gave the last $100 million of his money to not-for-profit environmental advocacy group the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).
Fred Krupp, the president of the EDF, said of the group’s biggest benefactor: "Robert W. Wilson was a Wall Street legend who became a prominent philanthropist.
"Bob had a passion to get things done in the world. Widely read and blessed with a keen intellect, he had the ability to predict where the world was going, a talent that informed his investments and, in later years, his philanthropy."
Krupp went on to indicate that Wilson was building up a hugely lucrative Wall Street portfolio "with the aim of bestowing his fortune during his lifetime".
"Initially skeptical of the science of climate change, he quickly came to regard it as a critical challenge. He wanted carbon pollution cut in an efficient and sensible way, knowing that for a solution to be environmentally sustainable, it must also be economically sustainable."
"Bob helped EDF grow with a pivotal $100 million challenge grant that inspired scores of others to increase their own giving," Krupp continued. "I am personally grateful to Bob for his leadership and support over many years."
Other beneficiaries of Wilson’s money include the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, the World Monuments Fund, the Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Society, each of which received $100 million before Wilson passed away.[/quote]
[url]http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/tycoon-robert-wilson-gives-away-800million-fortune-before-plunging-to-death-in-suicide-9027278.html[/url]
:( sad that he had decided to kill himself
I can understand him not wanting to suffer, but there must be better ways to do something instead of jumping off a building.
At 16 floors, would the impact kill you before the shock of free fall?
[QUOTE=Sgt. Khorn;43352661]I can understand him not wanting to suffer, but there must be better ways to do something instead of jumping off a building.
At 16 floors, would the impact kill you before the shock of free fall?[/QUOTE]
Shock of free fall? What.
Hopefully his money will help out the places he donated it to. Wall Street is a stressful business, sad to see it get the best of people. Just hope he was happy.
[QUOTE=deadoon;43352677]Shock of free fall? What.[/QUOTE]
i like to think of falling more as
so far so good
so far so good
so far so good
so far so good
so far s-
[QUOTE=deadoon;43352677]Shock of free fall? What.[/QUOTE]
I'm assuming he means when sometimes you pass out before hitting the ground?
I hope no-one had to witness it or be nearby when he impacted, but it sounds like the location would have caused quite a commotion...
If you ever think of killing yourself,[sp]find out about Zen[/sp]
[B]call a suicide hotline![/B]
I guess he was ready. Really cool of him to donate his entire fortune, I'd expect your average wall street legend to just pass it on to family (not that that's bad.)
Although yeah I can think of a few ways that would be less traumatic to bystanders than jumping...
[QUOTE]He gave the last $100 million of his money to not-for-profit environmental advocacy group the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).[/QUOTE]
Nice.
[QUOTE=SCopE5000;43352746]
If you ever think of killing yourself, find out about [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen]Zen[/url].[/QUOTE]
Not doubting you I'm just ignorant of the subject. How would Zen help someone suicidal?
[QUOTE=Strider*;43352795]Not doubting you I'm just ignorant of the subject. How would Zen help someone suicidal?[/QUOTE]
I agree, if anything it would make one feel the need to commit so as to achieve Zen after death.
[editline]30th December 2013[/editline]
Or at least it would me.
[QUOTE=Sgt-NiallR;43352822]I agree, if anything it would make one feel the need to commit so as to achieve Zen after death.[/quote]
Right, isn't nirvana implied to be nonexistence?
Well, if he was going to annihilate his consciousness, leaving behind a vast fortune to be distributed amongst various beneficial causes is definitely one of the things to do. I dunno if he left anything for whatever family he had, but I still think this was the best course of action; even if a windfall would help a widowed wife support the kids, I dunno if inheriting money is all that good a thing in the long run.
I spoke about a week ago about the concepts of trade value VS effort value, and in the case of inheritance whatever money you inherit from a deceased relative doesn't have much effort value since you didn't really earn it. Unless of course you got the money because of the efforts you made to make the person's life happy, though even then I dunno if making someone happy throughout their lives is worth as much as providing/producing important goods for an entire community or nation, or helping to manage one of the many complicated systems that govern society.
Yes making someone happy throughout their life is a great thing and requires a great deal of effort spread across the years, but it's still just one person over many, and nepotism kinda hurts the rest of us in the long run. I could go on to say that being born into big money is terrible for the human psyche, but that's a rant for another day, another topic, and another time when I forget to go to bed.
Also nirvana sounds fucking horrifying the way you put it.
You know 800 million is enough money to give every American $2.50.
Not saying every one deserves it and all of it should go to them, but think how that money could help people who NEED it.
[QUOTE=FLIPPY;43352930]You know 800 million is enough money to give every American 2.5 million.
Not saying every one deserves it and all of it should go to them, but think how that money could help people who NEED it.[/QUOTE]
...Actually it'd equal about 2 dollars and 52 cents for each citizen. I can get the gist of distributing the wealth, but I think your calculator must have a sticky 0 key.
[QUOTE=FLIPPY;43352930]You know 800 million is enough money to give every American 2.5 million.[/QUOTE]
uh
[QUOTE=ironman17;43352950]...Actually it'd equal about 2 dollars and 52 cents for each citizen. I can get the gist of distributing the wealth, but I think your calculator must have a sticky 0 key.[/QUOTE]
I think i did my math wrong XD
[QUOTE=FLIPPY;43352930]You know 800 million is enough money to give every American 2.5 million.
Not saying every one deserves it and all of it should go to them, but think how that money could help people who NEED it.[/QUOTE]
I could be wrong but I think there's more than 320 americans.
[QUOTE=Kinglah Crab;43352963]uh[/QUOTE]
I read my calculator wrong, :P and I'm tired as fuck.
[QUOTE=FLIPPY;43352973]I read my calculator wrong, :P and I'm tired as fuck.[/QUOTE]
that was a piece of ham, not a calculator
go to bed
You're telling me; it's almost 4 in the morning over here and I shoulda gone to bed hours ago. Still, being able to think these concepts, even when up 2-3 hours past my normal allotment, does say a few things about me...
[QUOTE=NoDachi;43352992]that was a piece of ham, not a calculator
go to bed[/QUOTE]
So that's why it's in my belly,I will sleep better on a full stomach.
eh this guy did an amazing thing but he coulda killed himself in a way that wasn't exactly so dangerous to other people
[QUOTE=Sableye;43353043]eh this guy did an amazing thing but he coulda killed himself in a way that wasn't exactly so dangerous to other people[/QUOTE]
Can't tell if you're joking or if you really do have such a passive attitude about suicide.
[QUOTE=Strider*;43352795]Not doubting you I'm just ignorant of the subject. How would Zen help someone suicidal?[/QUOTE]
A fellow might come to realise that his cerebral cortex contains stories about a fellow who he identifies with, and calls his self.
But what is there to identify with anything, if you already truly are your self?
Are you truly the content of your mind, or is that simply a story painted over consciousness that you identify with?
[QUOTE=Strider*;43352829]Right, isn't nirvana implied to be nonexistence?[/QUOTE]
Nirvana is a tricky one because it's usually loaded with ideas of what it is. When it isn't.
Nonexistence, certainly.
[QUOTE=layla;43352969]I could be wrong but I think there's more than 320 americans.[/QUOTE]
Nope, we began eating eachother, there's only 320 left.
mcdonalds was closed don't judge
[QUOTE=FLIPPY;43352930]You know 800 million is enough money to give every American 2.5 million.
Not saying every one deserves it and all of it should go to them, but think how that money could help people who NEED it.[/QUOTE]
Uh, there are 300 million Americans, not 300.
[QUOTE=SCopE5000;43352746]
If you ever think of killing yourself, find out about [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen]Zen[/url].[/QUOTE]
or, call a suicide hotline
[QUOTE=SCopE5000;43353143]A fellow might come to realise that his cerebral cortex contains stories about a fellow who he identifies with, and calls his self.
But what is there to identify with anything, if you already truly are your self?
Are you truly the content of your mind, or is that simply a story painted over consciousness that you identify with?
And, if you still wanted to kill your physical self, after many years of not really identifying with it, you could die in style.
[img_thumb]http://archive.fashion156.com/i_uploads/20110104/thich-quang-duc.jpeg[/img_thumb]
[img_thumb]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9hV5NXBDHmw/T2TrEbf3nXI/AAAAAAAAAHY/ZRHJYSbthR8/s1600/shut.jpg[/img_thumb]
Nirvana is a tricky one because it's usually loaded with ideas of what it is. When it isn't.
Nonexistence, certainly.[/QUOTE]
I sincerely hope you're not the advice guy in your friend group.
God damn NYC is a crazy place with crazy people.
People during the great depression jumped from Wall St buildings because they had [I]no[/I] money, not the other way around.
Seriously though I guess he just wanted to go very quickly instead of somewhat slowly dying from a stroke.
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