SIMON BARBER: Predatory capitalism eating at the soul of the US
Greedy philanthropists cannot wholly mask the stench, as they are also predators
In August 2011 the 170m obelisk honouring George Washington at the heart of the city named after him was damaged in a rare east coast earthquake. It needed $15m in repairs. Congress put up half the money but for the balance appealed to private donors. David Rubenstein answered the call. For the co-founder of the Carlyle Group, a hugely successful private equity firm, $7m or $8m was chump change.At the time he was said to be worth about $2.6bn. He was into what he called “patriotic philanthropy”. Part of why he had such a pile to give away was a quirk of the tax code, which allowed him to treat profits he made investing other people’s money not as income, which in his case would have been taxed at 35%, but as capital gains, then taxed at 15%. Politicians on both sides of the partisan divide, Donald Trump included, have pledged, piously and often, to close the so-called carried interest tax loophole, but somehow it never seems to get done. The reason is simple enough. The billionaire ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.