My Confession

It is important to stand by your words. To uphold your beliefs and remain steadfast in your convictions.

Of course, if you find yourself to be wrong, you should own up, confess, and admit it.

Which is what I am doing. A while ago I made a post about philanthropy, arguing quite confidently that "You never hear about people making massive anonymous donations, for quite self explanatory reasons."

Which makes plenty of sense to me. But I admit it, I was wrong. You do hear about anonymous donations, if you look hard enough. So without further ado, I'll reveal the secret I discovered and concealed from you.

John, and that's not his name, has £100million pounds to give away. He wants no plaques, no TV, no press, no fuss and no recognition.

Immmediately, I see the question forming on the lips of those that believe that no-one gives for selfless reasons. If he doesn't want anyone to know, then why did he do an interview in The Independent? (wrongly credited on the webpage with Tobias Hickey, who is an illustrator, and actually with Cole Moreton)

I would argue that far from seeking recognition, or even validation for his actions, he wants to use his actions to encourage others.

The article also describes the 39-year-old hedge fund manager Chris Hohn, who became public as the UK's biggest donor without meaning to after giving pounds 50.4m to his own charity working in Africa. He did not choose for his philanthropic edge to be revealed to the world, rather, he was 'outted' by an article in the press. He turned down subsequent interviews.

So you do hear about anonymous donations, but is it because the donor craves reward? Read the article for yourself, and form your own conclusions.