The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are typically known for philanthropic acts. However, one New York Times contributor is arguing that President Donald Trump has instead made "reverse philanthropy" one of the defining traits of his administration.
In a Thursday op-ed for the Times, writer Molly Jong-Fast defined "reverse philanthropy" as an act in which Trump expects the wealthiest to "give to him — or else." She then named multiple examples of Trump soliciting donations for both his second inauguration and now his $300 million ballroom, which will be replacing what used to be the East Wing of the White House.
"Instead of the richest helping the neediest, they pay tribute to the greediest. Remember the dozens of people and corporations who gave over a million dollars each to his inauguration? Mr. Trump then went to five crypto firms and eight tech companies, including some that helped fund the inauguration, for help building his ballroom. Which will itself be a place to gather fellow oligarchs and others who seek Mr. Trump’s favor," she wrote. "Think endless lavish fund-raising galas in honor of one recipient who will never truly be satisfied."
Jong-Fast — the daughter of author Erica Jong — lamented that Trump has made "rich people worse" by fostering a culture of "selfishness" among the richest members of American society. She contrasted arts patron Agnes Gund (noting that the Times called her "the last good rich person") with billionaires like Sam Bankman-Fried — who is in prison for fraud — and Elon Musk, who scored a one out of five on Forbes' 2023 philanthropy scale.
The Times contributor referenced a biennial survey conducted by Bank of America and the Indiana University school of philanthropy, which asks wealthy respondents about their altruism habits. In the 2024 poll, 45 percent of those surveyed said that they weren't giving as much to charity in order to "take care of family needs." That's a significant increase from the 2015 survey, when only 27 percent of affluent respondents listing that as their primary reason for not donating to charity.
"Trump sets the tone. His cabinet is very rich, and unlikely to be that concerned, or at least affected, by the true cost of Thanksgiving this year," Jong-Fast wrote. "Perhaps it fits with the broader picture: The rich are the richest they have ever been, and they seem mostly to be focused on … keeping their money."
"Philanthropy was always, on some level, a way for people with too much to feel better about that fact, or maybe about how they came to have all that loot in the first place," she added. "They need to be reminded of that. And of what they should be grateful for: this country, and its hardworking nonbillionaires trying to survive."
Click here to read Jong-Fast's op-ed in the New York Times.