Bono's Charity Donations

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vicu2guy

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Ok so maybe someone knows the answer for me.

Basically Bono is trying to pressure countries into giving 0.7% of their GDP to foreign aid and critisizing those who don't. While I totally agree with this, I have friends that have asked me several times "well how much does Bono give?"

So does anyone have any idea how much of his own money he has given as either a percentage of total?

I know that a lot of the money he raises comes from doing benefit work (ie. donating profits of singles) and pressure nations since they can do so much more than just him, but how much actually comes from his fortune?

If anyone has managed to come across this, that'd be so helpful. :)
 
Hmm...good question, although it really shouldn't matter. One person's (even an incredibly rich person's) private donations to a cause like cancelling third-world debt still have hardly any impact on the outcome of the campaign.

Secondly, and more realistically, Bono's personal donations are well....private. Somebody might know what he has given individually, but don't be surprised if nobody really knows.

Well, that was basically just a round-about way of telling you "I have no fucking clue." but hey, it's something. :shifty:
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:
I don't think its any of our business...

Exactly.

Besides, what Bono offers as human capital - his time, his celebrity, his ability to make people from both ends of the religious and political spectrums shut up and listen - will probably prove FAR more valuable than the dollar amount he gives, if it hasn't already.
 
I think you're right. Then again, it seems to be one of the main questions doubters say when they spot my white bracelet.

For example the following post on urban dictionary:

6. bono - To save the world with everybody elses money.

If the doubter's had a satisfying answer to the question, that would result in more pressure on the politicians to reach the 0.7% target.
 
It's just a fact that people would rather have their rock stars dive into the excess of drugs, alcohol, and models than be married for 20 plus years and try and do good to the world...

It's sad.
 
There have been some very good responses so far in this thread to answer the questions that doubters might have about U2's own personal contributions to humanitarian organizations.

Here is another piece of info to substantiate the fact that Bono DOES put his money where his mouth is:


http://mmmworldwide.org/index.php?article=bono


Here is just a part of that link:


As Bono and U2 were waiting for the results of the Grammy Awards on February 27 (2002), a spokesperson for the Government of Malawi was telling delegates from the International monetary Fund that over 70% of Malawi's ten million people are on the verge of starvation and the situation is getting worse.

Much of the world's media ignored this information. But Bono didn't miss it. He immediately contacted his London office, and within hours they were on the phone to our community in Lilongwe offering immediate assistance for the villages Bono had visited a few weeks ago.



So while the press may not be privy to everything that U2 and Bono do in their personal lives to help others, they ARE very active in contributing their own money to help others. :up:
 
I sort of agree with what most of the people in this thread have said...however he talks about how these malaria vaccinations cost 5 cents. I bet they could vaccinate every child in Africa from this disease with the profits from this tour alone, and still have some left over.

I think if they made a substantial donation like that, people would take him A LOT more seriously which would then give his little advocacy campaign a whole lot more credibility (most people roll their eyes at him).
 
VertigoGal said:
I sort of agree with what most of the people in this thread have said...however he talks about how these malaria vaccinations cost 5 cents. I bet they could vaccinate every child in Africa from this disease with the profits from this tour alone, and still have some left over.

I think if they made a substantial donation like that, people would take him A LOT more seriously which would then give his little advocacy campaign a whole lot more credibility (most people roll their eyes at him).

That's over simplifying the issue. Have you seen The Constant Gardner? Same deal, the woman thanks the Dr. for convincing drug companies to donate drugs or sell them cheap, but then goes on to complain that the drugs never get to the people who need them. I know the movie is not factual and is a conspiracy theory, but that much is true. Even if Bono could convince drug companies to produce enough of this said vaccinated at $.05 a shot, it's going to cost millions, if not billions, in distribution for a project of that scale. That's why you'll also here Bono's famous "throwing pennies at a problem" line. It's simply not enough to donate money or say "well, now they can get the drugs cheap so what's the big deal?" That's not how it works. It's very easy to miss this point. I missed it for years and years until I was actually there in Africa sitting next to a man who had HIV for 11 years before receiving ANY form of aid or treatment. The government there in Tanzania does not function under seperation of church and state; they prefer the churches help with these issues and even help fund them, BUT the churches alone don't have enough volunteer personell to go out and make sure all these people suffering from diseases are getting the aid and treatment they need. We're talking about people who live say 50 miles from the nearest village or hospital where they could pick up cheap or free drugs. Most of these people don't even have bikes, let alone cars, and even if they did, we're still assuming there's even a road into the nearest village. See what I mean? A vaccination means absolutely nothing until it reaches the person who needs it.
 
$6million. Wow. And as I am reading this thread I am thinking anyone who gives their time to a charity cause, ESPECIALLY time....the time bringing awareness to others about a worthy cause is simply PRICELESS.
 
Yeah I thought about distribution costs as I was typing that...my point is that he could build schools or wells or whatever, and it wouldn't solve Africa but it would help a lot of people. Whatever. He can do whatever he wants, but he really needs to take off the sunglasses while doing it, he doesn't know how much he's hurting his cause with the damn things...
 
VertigoGal said:
he doesn't know how much he's hurting his cause with the damn things...

LOL You keep saying this. You keep talking about how he will get taken more seriously. Do you realize how serious Bono is getting taken in this world?

He's made politicians do a 180 on their stances, he's made conservatives pledge and do more for this type of cause than they ever would have, he's gotten taken seriously by major newspaper and magazines around the world, he was one of the few non-conservatives that Bill O'Reiley didn't tell to shut up, and this month he made the cover of a conservative magazine that would have considered him the enemy in the late 80s early 90's.
 
vicu2guy said:
Ok so maybe someone knows the answer for me.

Basically Bono is trying to pressure countries into giving 0.7% of their GDP to foreign aid and critisizing those who don't. While I totally agree with this, I have friends that have asked me several times "well how much does Bono give?"

So does anyone have any idea how much of his own money he has given as either a percentage of total?

I know that a lot of the money he raises comes from doing benefit work (ie. donating profits of singles) and pressure nations since they can do so much more than just him, but how much actually comes from his fortune?

If anyone has managed to come across this, that'd be so helpful. :)
Tell your stupid friends that it doesn't matter how much Bono gives. The important thing about his work is that he is helping to make the plight of AIDS in Africa an issue that is on the minds of everyday people, as well as important world leaders'.

Think about it, say Bono donates 50 million dollars a year to charity.

What was the size of the first aid cheque the US (convinced to do so by Bono) sent to Africa? 700 million dollars?

That's his true gift.
Anyone who tells you Bono should quit whining and just give to charity himself isn't just missing the point, they're not even shooting at the right target.
 
VertigoGal said:
Yeah I thought about distribution costs as I was typing that...my point is that he could build schools or wells or whatever, and it wouldn't solve Africa but it would help a lot of people. Whatever. He can do whatever he wants, but he really needs to take off the sunglasses while doing it, he doesn't know how much he's hurting his cause with the damn things...

I agree about the sunglasses, but apparently the camera flashes make his eyes swell. Sounds dumb, but it would explain why he's been wearing them ALL the time lately.

Anyway...back to Africa, my friends and I had a discussion on this just last night. There's a common misconception that Africa needs food and money. We've seen what happens with the money (it doesn't get to the right channel or is lost through corruption) and as for food, there's silos of donated grain rotting all over Africa. If you study political science, third world development, and economics long enough it becomes apparent that this is wrong. Africa needs education, health care, and infrastructure. Those are things you CANNOT develop simply from donations. Not to mention, for either of the three to be effective in any capacity, you have to have ALL three. Bono could build schools, but there are plenty of families and towns in Africa that already choose to keep their children at home because there is no one left to care for the elderly or work in the fields. I've seen kids as young as three years old herding cattle in Masaailand instead of attending the local schools. Bono could dig wells, but again, without basic health care or even roads to access these wells, only a very small, and non-significant (in statistical terms) of people would even utilize them.

It doesn't work to isolate a single variable and say "why can't we fix this?" because even if that variable is fixed, it will never be even close to successfully effective without addressing the problem as a whole (poverty and poorly structured or nonexistant economy and infrastructure make it basically impossible to effectively distribute proper aid).
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:
It's just a fact that people would rather have their rock stars dive into the excess of drugs, alcohol, and models than be married for 20 plus years and try and do good to the world...

It's sad.

You're so right. It really is sad, too.
 
Perhaps politicians take him seriously, I don't know...I suppose that's more important than what a large number of "normal" people think of him, considering his approach/aims. Maybe I don't give him enough credit.

LivLuv, I get your point & I'm sorry if I oversimplified it (you know much more about this than I do). All I'm saying is that I understand why a lot of people look at him the way they do.

I feel like we've had this discussion like 3 times, and I'm not even that against him or anything compared to a lot of people on this board even. (just contrary, lol)
 
"Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary. "

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.


Anyone who thinks Bono is not philanthropic and charitable is beyond cynical. The guy is very giving. But he doesn't believe in bragging about what he gives away. That is very classy, in my opinion, especially when there are so many jerks claiming he doesn't give any money away.

Bono knows that affecting change will come from government action, not from his own wallet. He may be ridiculously wealthy compared to most of us, but his dollars can't make a dent in world poverty. It is very naive to think otherwise. If others are too ignorant to realize this, that's their problem....
 
VertigoGal said:
Perhaps politicians take him seriously, I don't know...I suppose that's more important than what a large number of "normal" people think of him, considering his approach/aims. Maybe I don't give him enough credit.

LivLuv, I get your point & I'm sorry if I oversimplified it (you know much more about this than I do). All I'm saying is that I understand why a lot of people look at him the way they do.


It's fine, I know you know a lot more about this issue than your post implied b/c I read your posts elsewhere :D I read it as you were expressing the views of the people around you, in which case I'd advise you to tell them that they need to go their homework before they try to bring down the credibility of someone has influential as Bono. I just think that it's not fair to assume most people not on this board see Bono differently, b/c we've seen from many angles that that's simply not true. Sure, there's always the small groups of haters in any situation, I know some myself, but for every one of them, I can think of five or ten other people who have become more in tune with these issues because of Bono. Everywhere I go I find these same results.
 
This is kinda random, but a long time ago I was doing a Google search for new images/articles for my Ali site, and I found a hit on a page for some benefit event. It isted donors in several catagories and Bono was on the list, just under his real name. I can't remember what it was for or how much, but the point is, he obviously donates privately. Why anyone would need proof is beyond me. How many of us publicly annouce over the Internet how much we donate? :huh:
 
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