Wealthy People Depicted as Charitable
Main Description
In movies, wealthy people are depicted as charitable much more than in real life, and in the cases where they are depicted as greedy, they usually change their tune by the end of the movie as a plot point ala Scrooge. It is rare for a wealthy person to go an entire movie depicted as not being very charitable, but in real life it happens much more frequently. Also, many wealthy people donate to candidates who will pass laws more beneficial to them and less beneficial to average citizens which counteracts any charitable giving they do. Wealthy people depicted as charitable helps conservatives promote the false idea that poorer people are better off relying on private charitable donations than government programs funded by a progressive tax system.
Conservative Trope Examples
- The wife of a wealthy businessman donates her $75 million mansion to benefit environmental charities.
- Laird (James Franco) is involved with philanthropic issues in the developing world after Melinda Gates got him "totally pumped about issues" in that part of the globe. As if that weren't enough, Laird purchases Ned's (Bryan Cranston) floundering printing company, which they wind up turning into a luxury toilet company.
- Bruce Wayne hosts an event at his estate to honor the memory of former DA Harvey Dent. He's also shown attending a formal charity ball where he dances with cat woman. And at the end, he donates his manor to an orphanage.Other Tropes: Charity Fundraiser Events
- Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) | Charity Fundraiser EventsAll the major players in the movie attend a $10,000 a seat black-tie charity fundraiser including a cameo from Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) from the original Wall Street where it is revealed he got rich, retired and is now a philanthropist.Additional Tropes: Wealthy People Depicted as Charitable
- Nigel is depicted as a nice, wealthy man who was taken advantage of by a much younger woman who married him for his money and left him. He loves his daughter Gemma, dotes on her and chooses to take the boat on a treasure hunt when she expresses interest. They use his super large and fancy yacht in their search for the sunken treasure along with Finn and Tess.
- "Richie" is a rich son of a multi-billionaire who lives in a huge mansion and has his own private butler who caters to his every need. Richie's dad is not only a wealthy businessman who literally has a mountain with his own head sculpted on it, but also a dedicated philanthropist who diligently works to help those less fortunate.
- Bobby Axelrod created a charitable foundation in his name that helps disadvantaged youth, among a host of other disadvantaged people and organizations.
Overrepresentation
- Wealthy people are more charitable overall in real-life because you have to have more money than you need in order to donate it. But, there are a lot of exceptions especially amongst conservatives who donate to the Republican party hoping to get laws passed that benefit them financially
- One Republican donated his entire $1.65 billion fortune to a right-wing organization led by extremists with ties to the Federalist Society
Conservative Biases
- Republicans often support policies that benefit the wealthy at the expense of average workers so anytime wealthy people are depicted as philanthropic on screen that greatly helps them.
- Republicans want a flawed system where help for people in need comes from private charities instead of government programs which are more fair and effective in helping people. In order to sell this idea, they need for wealthy people to be depicted as charitable.