Comparison between Indian billionaires and their Western counterparts.

Yes it is right than Indian billionaires are less interested in charity. But we must not be blame only to billionaires of India. Indian corrupt politician and beurocracy is also responsible for it. If some one here want to do some charity than he must be prepared to face number of problems. Although Azim Prem ji and Narayan Murati donate a part of their capital.

Cool! If I were a billionaire, heck even a millionaire, I will also make generous contributions for mankind. I don't think I'll spend too much on building palaces and mansions. Although, I wouldn't mind having one. Anyway, I don't want to be judgmental to how others would like to spend their fortunes, which ever way they earned it.

Hi Doctordidi, People like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are a new beed among western billionaires. Most of the very rich in the west still act as Indian billionaires do. I sincerely hope that such people as Gates and Buffet are examples of a new trend in the west. Blessings.

I too have observed the same thing with our Indian billionaires.They not only squander money but also give to charity not because they feel for the suffering masses but because it gives them an opportunity to save on income tax since donations to charitable institutions give a 100% rebate. and what about the rest of the money that they have earned? Of course it goes to foreign tax havens where it is stashed safely.This is the reason why people like Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev have made it their objective to root out all the black money stashed abroad and also put an end to widespread corruption. In India the rich are gettin richer and the poor are getting poorer and this difference is getting wider every year.Its not just corporates and politicians who contribute to the scourge but also sportspeople and those in the film and building line.Unfortunately the laws of the land are archaic and full of loopholes and these people are taking full advantage of them.

I do not know india very much, but I am also a much aware Indian. I think you describe the Indian billionaires very fairly. I think, they need to do so much for the poor in india and that was sector of the society that they plunder to become wealthy. it is better to give back to society then to venture into sports and building palaces.

Maybe your billionaires are dreaming that the palaces they are building will become famous historical landmarks and objects of beauty, tourism and romance, like the Taj Mahal, and their names will be forever etched to these landmarks... hahahah... Tax exemptions, media promotion, linkage with grassroots communities, non-profit/non-stock corporate bodies/foundations organized and managed by persons known for their integrity and credibility, and programs to assist communities are needed to facilitate the spontaneity of response from these billionaires and millionaires. Ultimately, setting aside funds for community development programs will become a habit for them.

Hi.. First of all, I am pleased that I came across this discussion. That was a very straight forward question. I definitely feel that people are being influenced so much by these activities of the rich people in India. It creates an impression that one cannot be happy without money('more than enough'). This induces the youngsters to get indulged in illegal activity. These rich people can instead adopt villages and start helping the needy people. Media is one aspect of it. Media does not cover all good news. They only go in for some spicy topics. Hence, media should also be part in encouraging the real kind-hearted people!

Yes, it is a true picture for almost all the billionaires of India. There social contribution is nil. If we look you will see that many of them are the owner of huge black money. But we can not prove it and as we can not prove it, we can not tell it. With my little knowledge, I think TATA is different.

I think that perhaps such extravagant displays of wealth have their roots in the social structure of modern India. I really don't know much about it. It reminds me of the riches of royalty as in England. Traditional riches have a hand in this I think. Certain religious rites have big and fancy items involved too. I think it has to do with tradition.

To give away hugh amounts of money takes faith that you can help and maybe even change the world. It is useless to expect others who cannot believe this to make gifts. I think we have a cultural difference here and Karma plays a big part in this. Unless I am mistaken Karma means what you sow you reap, what ever you have done in past lives is responsibile for what you obtain in this life. In the West most believe in only one life and they believe that the better they treat each other the closer to eternal life in Heaven they get. Regardless of religion we are taught to take care of those less fortunate then ourselves. To us being able to make a gift of anykind is a great joy.

I suspect part of it stems from the fact that most western billionaires still feel a bit ashamed of having so much money: culturally, even though they're admired for their success, they get (relatively) a lot of hassle for being so rich and so are urged to donate and spread the wealth. Indian culture presumably inflicts less shame on the insanely wealthy, thus leaving them to do whatever they want with their dosh. (Purely opinion - I don't know enough about Indian culture to say for sure.)

I am not surprise anymore, as a foreigner living in India, never in my life did I hear of these so called Billionaires donate money for charity or has shelter homes or feeding programs for the less fortunate and needy (just correct me if I am wrong ) But of so many registered millionaires (in Mumbai) alone, I have never seen any improvement with regards to poverty stricken people living in the same region as what I stated. There wasn't a sign of a new building or establishment being donated or given for the purpose of helping the poor like hospitalization and such. Yes you are right, the rich just tend to get more rich, even if they share what they have, I guess the amount would still be just chicken feed and not something that they would say ouchhhh in their pockets because its quite a big amount of money.

In the West, charity donations are tax exempt. It's your guess if this is actually tax evasion or a political statement. I suspect it's a little of both. Also it is an opportunity to be portrayed in the media as "the good guy". Big egos go with the billions!

i guess for the western billionaires they were popular all over the world, and they recognized how they could be a billionaires in their life history, like Billy gates how he started to be billionaires...And also most of the western billionaires like Billy gates they were extending there money to everyone specially those who in need, and also they made a popular because in a way that we were using the products they become a billionaires, and that products was also became popular too. For the Indians Billionaires...i guess they were not popular around the world, there moneys was around in India only, although they were billionaires also, and they not also exposing or using into some big business...