[r00fus]

> And even in the alternative that the donors would have spent the money in the general economy, that has obvious societal benefits as well, e.g. job creation or easier access to capital.

You're making an assertion that needs some citations to back it up - on a prima-facie view, wealth not spent on charities generally sits in coffers or is used to make more money, which does nothing or little directly for the poor.

The view isn't whether the money is "being put to use" but of what qualitative use it's put to. For every angel investor or VC there is out there funding startups, there are 10x or more wealthy individuals who don't invest their wealth with any goal other than increasing what they have.