I don't see any problem asking a question like this, as it is always answered very well by posters here.
This thread proves it.
It always amazes me. People saying "U2, those goddamn hypocrites, how much of their money do they give to charity when they are out there asking everyone else."
Ignore for a second that U2 and or Bono, to my knowledge, have never asked for our money but for our voice. Bono said that numerous times introducing the one campaign on Vertigo Tour stops, and at the back of their albums, as we have all seen, they have a list of causes that you can lend your voice to in various ways. None of which require money, though I am sure plenty of people so choose to give money to organizations promoting freedom in Burma or Amnesty International. U2 does not request this.
I also never knew, until talking to these people, that U2, yes, Bono, Edge, Larry and Adam are in fact the wealthiest people in the entire universe! NO, no one in this world has more money than that washed up asshole Bono, and he has some nerve, etc, etc, we all know the BS.
Otherwise intelligent people, like one of my co workers, he is in his early 60s, knows that music today sucks and that as far as bands go, U2 is pretty damn good. He says to me at 360 "yeah, all that is nice(ONE, MLK/Burma,freedom in Iran) but I have never read about him putting his money where his mouth is."
As you all said above, since when are their tax returns public record?!!!! Just like you have no idea what your next door neighbor does with his money, you don't know what U2 does with their money. These people say this despite constant coverage of U2 giving their time, music, travel expenses, etc to numerous benefit concerts, and Bono's frequent trips to Africa and lobbying governments everywhere. Do they think Bono gets taxpayer money for this travel? Or it grows on trees? Was the money to get ONE and RED, DATA and Edun together found on a street somewhere? I am sure Bono contributed some or alot to all these efforts. Please, all this man has to do in his life is sit home and count his money, he could have been doing that since 1987.
I am 22 and that's what I tell all my clueless friends who attack U2 on these grounds. I ask them if they realize that, in the year we were born, 1987, they could have stopped making albums, pulled together a greatest hits tour every 4 years, drank and partied in between and still had all the wealth and fame anyone could ever want. Instead, they have gone out and used their wealth and fame to make the world a little bit better off than when they found it.
So we have Stranded, but given their track record, I would not be surprised if it was far, far more.
They have probably donated millions of dollars to causes and we will never have any idea about it. No problem with me.