[Invictus0]

Mr. Beast's philanthropy is specifically enabled by his audience (sponsors contribute to the philanthropy in exchange for short ads), his videos bring awareness to the issue he is donating to, and his philanthropy is amplified by viewers donating their own money in kind to the cause. None of these things could happen (neither the large donations nor the awareness nor the amplification by ordinary viewers) without making the videos. I don't see how you can conclude that a gift only made possible by this process (thousands of people regaining their sight) is not altruistic merely because some ancient books said you have to be quiet about your donations.

[reureu]

My point in mentioning that all major religions frown on making a show of your giving was more to point out how ubiquitous and culturally cross-cutting that belief is than to say "some ancient books" should dictate our values or beliefs. Regardless of what you believe, hopefully you can acknowledge that there's a meaningful signal in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism all agreeing about a particular point.

Mr. Beast doesn't do _philanthropy_, he makes entertainment videos. His niche is giving money away in exchange for challenges or stunts. This gets him views, and has created a profitable business for him. That's not altruistic at all, it's just a business guy who is quite good at knowing his audience and executing his trade. "thousands of people regaining their sight" is a glorified marketing campaign.

Yes, money goes to causes; but the fact that money wouldn't otherwise go there is a policy decision that we've collectively made. We could tax billionaires and use the revenue to fund health, education, housing, infrastructure, research, or whatever. I'd much prefer to see us do that than wait around until we see Mr. Beast's Children's Hospital pop up somewhere.