Mellon made this list of evil philanthropists also.
Being a philanthropist is like shorthand for saying "I'm a good person." Here you are, stinking rich and giving away vast sums of money to the poor and needy. And it's not like philanthropy doesn't work. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is credited with saving 122 million lives worldwide (via the Guardian), Jimmy Carter's Carter Center has almost eradicated guinea worm (via the UN), and Mark Zuckerberg once boosted Newark schools' English levels with a $100 million gift (via USA Today). If only every rich person were noble enough to get into philanthropy, huh?
Well, here's the thing, being a philanthropist is less of a marker of decency than you'd like to think. For every genuine do-gooder like Bill Gates, you have plenty of shysters, schemers, egomaniacs, misers, and businessmen so shady you could use them as a sunblock. The act of philanthropy itself may be good. The people doing that giving? Not so much.
Read More: https://www.grunge.com/152226/respected ... le-people/
Bonus article https://www.worth.com/the-10-most-toxic ... thropists/
Artists have always been marching to different drummers, or not.
It's common knowledge that you don't need a beautiful soul to create beautiful art. Look at any number of famous painters, musicians, or writers, and it's clear that a beautiful soul is a requirement that ranks way below being a higher-functioning alcoholic in the creativity stakes.
But while you're probably aware that not all artists are paragons of virtue, you're likely less aware of just what total waste-expelling orifices some of them are. There are artists out there whose names you can recall with greater ease than you can recall your own mother's birthday — towering geniuses in the worlds of painting, music or design who are so unlovely that spending time with them would be the psychological equivalent of hurling yourself into a waste disposal unit. Think great art can't be made by people who are total art-holes? This pantheon of pimps, murderers, bullies, and rip-off merchants begs to differ.
Read More: https://www.grunge.com/130722/respected ... le-people/
Respected Musicians Who Were Actually Terrible People
Some musicians just have a freakish amount of talent. Most of us learn at a young age that we are not those people. The realization probably came as soon as you were old enough to read social cues and you tried showing off your amazing talents to anyone except your pet. (Daisy is a very good dog, but maybe not a very good judge of musical ability.)
Those who do have that freakish amount of talent are the singer-songwriters, the people who can play any instrument they pick up, the ones who get lost in the music of their own making whether they're in the studio or on stage.
There's something almost magical about listening to a true musical genius, and they've definitely earned our respect. But it's easy to forget that behind all that music is a very ordinary person, and sometimes, that ordinary person is a terrible human being.
The following article includes allegations and accounts of domestic abuse, sexual assault, addiction, suicide, and child abuse.
Read More: https://www.grunge.com/110681/respected ... le-people/