I didn't expect him to support athletics, but was always surprised he didn't provide support for Jewish organizations at RU, considering RU has one of the highest, if not the absolute highest percentage of Jewish students at a major public university.
OT: RIP Bernie Marcus
- Thread starter superfan01
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He was wise. I don't give my money to politically oriented organizations now and I also wouldn't do it if I had his money. But he definitely had opinions on government and they weren't apolitical.
You don’t know if he did or didn’t. He gave away billions of dollars. Only some of that with his name on it.
How can opinions on government be anything BUT political? Are we not allowed to have opinions other than yours?
RIP Bernie Marcus. That should be your first thought as a human being.
As for the other stuff being discussed.. I always saw his philanthropy in Georgia to largely be self-serving.. that is, his new home state.. an important state for lumber for his business.. Also.. he was Rutgers-Newark.. I'd guess if he were Rutgers-New Brunswick he would have still gotten the old Rutgers Screw.. but may have enjoyed it more.
As for the other stuff being discussed.. I always saw his philanthropy in Georgia to largely be self-serving.. that is, his new home state.. an important state for lumber for his business.. Also.. he was Rutgers-Newark.. I'd guess if he were Rutgers-New Brunswick he would have still gotten the old Rutgers Screw.. but may have enjoyed it more.
People are complex. Henry Ford and Walt Disney were charitable. Their views on non-Christians, not so much.
People can decide what they want about him. But to me, his nasty views on RU are disqualifying before anything else.
Why attend a school whose beliefs you don't align with? Rutgers Newark has a clear mission. It's like refusing to donate to NJIT because they don't have a philosophy program.
Bottom line, he was one of the most financially successful alums of Rutgers, whether it be NB or Newark. Created a lot of financial wealth for his workers and for the US economy. Did he donate to RU athletics like many successful alums of schools like ND, Mich, Bama, etc? No. That was never his priority. He did give away massive amounts to make life better for many people and to advance society. A life well lived. Some people on this thread are incredibly petty and borderline ignorant. A jerk? What the hell is wrong with you?
You mean they can't dictate where one makes their charitable contributions? Hey, screw medical centers, medical research and aquariums. Beyond petty and ignorant.
What are you talking about? Who is they? I said he did a great job with his donations. Are you on drugs?
He was being sarcastic and, I believe, agreeing with you.
Possible. But don't know why he would keep donations to a Jewish student cause anonymous. I checked his name on the list for donations > $500 a few years ago and find it.
Huh? Think you misunderstood. My point is simply that rich alums shouldn't be expected to give to their alma mater. Let's be honest Rutgers, and most universities, have been taken over by those with leftist ideology. If Bernie isn't a leftist why would he give? I'm not saying I know this is why he may not have given, but it would be a very obvious reason.
F Bernie Marcus- for his lack of support of Rutgers and for his political contributions.
Most people are both good and bad. Seems like BM did some very good things which, based on what's been presented in this thread, outweigh the bad. Judging people mostly by their political choices is how we get so enormously polarized and that's just not a good thing for our nation.
The comic irony here is that many folks might agree with me now, because of the specific politics of the person I'm defending. But those same folks, were the political situation reversed, would vehemently disagree with my post.
And the mouse wheel spins on...
The comic irony here is that many folks might agree with me now, because of the specific politics of the person I'm defending. But those same folks, were the political situation reversed, would vehemently disagree with my post.
And the mouse wheel spins on...
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He had money to include Rutgers and didn't.
Who makes medical centers, research, and aquariums run? I must have missed all the doctors, researchers, and marine biologists out there without college degrees?
If it was some political dispute he could have donated to the pharmacy school or med school. He didn't. He could have a scholarship for low income kids from Newark like he was to get a Pharmacy or medical degree. He did not. He could have said cancer or other research only. He did not. I have made department donations to RU and I am not a billionaire by any stretch.
It seems like quite honestly he was uninterested in middle class Newark/North Jersey kids getting the opportunities he did. Which is sad.
And yeah- if people with the means don't give money towards education, they're going to worsen things for the next generation. You are going to be lucky in that your generation told ours go to college, you're going to have doctors and nurses to care for you. With the current anti education movement out there a lot of Gen X are going to struggle to get aging care.
Marcus donated to and supported what he felt was worth giving his money to, Rutgers wasn't one of them.
That was his choice for whatever reason he felt and most of us do the same.
Some TKR members might be like Bernie and keep their wallets closed when giving charitable donations
to institutions and causes that are close to what they feel is worth donating to .
No need to hate on the man, but can be disappointed that he didn't feel Rutgers Newark or New Brunswick was worth donating to
Arthur M. Blank, the other co-founder of Home Depot felt differently , among his charitable causes his school wasn't left out .
Blank donated $50 million to Babson College, his Alma mater
He has donated around $1 billion , to different charitable causes, through his Blank Family Foundation .
Seems like both Bernie ( conservative) and Arthur (liberal) both look to help others and no matter what their political leanings are, deserve to be commended for their giving to the causes they believe in and not the ones we feel they should.
That was his choice for whatever reason he felt and most of us do the same.
Some TKR members might be like Bernie and keep their wallets closed when giving charitable donations
to institutions and causes that are close to what they feel is worth donating to .
No need to hate on the man, but can be disappointed that he didn't feel Rutgers Newark or New Brunswick was worth donating to
Arthur M. Blank, the other co-founder of Home Depot felt differently , among his charitable causes his school wasn't left out .
Blank donated $50 million to Babson College, his Alma mater
He has donated around $1 billion , to different charitable causes, through his Blank Family Foundation .
Seems like both Bernie ( conservative) and Arthur (liberal) both look to help others and no matter what their political leanings are, deserve to be commended for their giving to the causes they believe in and not the ones we feel they should.
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