Wednesday, January 14, 2004

The Apprentice? No ... The Cheapskate

Now I know that a certain amount of readers (free marketers and Ayn Rand afficionados) will fault this post, and I accept your scorn, my little pomegranates, but, dammit, if the guys at TheSmokingGun feel it is worthy, then -- well -- so do I.

Donald Trump is, quite frankly, a cheapskate when it comes to charity.

Sure, you are right, The Trumper doesn't have to give a goddamned penny, but he does, through the Trump Foundation -- $287,000 in 2002. So, doesn't that make him Top Drawer?

Well, no. That amount is nothing, absolutely nothing compared to, say, the $5 million that his poorer archrival Leona Helmsley gave to the 9-11 Fund, or even the $1 million that Dr. Dre gave, and he is nowhere near as rich as The Trumper (who is rumored to be worth in the ten figure range).

What's also interesting are the charities he supports. Trup gave $10,000 -- a drop in the bucket, to be sure -- to The Metropolitain Golf Foundation (four!"), but only $1,000 each to the United Cerebral Palsy of New York City and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Glad to see he has his priorities straight.

Trump did, however, find time to give a heapin' $58,000 to the Police Athletic League in 2002. Trumper also gave $3500 to the PAL Woman of the Year and $10,125 to the New York City Police Foundation. Hmmm ... do we sense a theme emerging here? I don't want to say it out loud, but I think you get my drift on where I am going with this.

Let's just say that solicitors for donations from Trump are best served by adding the word "police" to their pitch. Not that there is anything wrong with that (*looks around uneasily*).

Way to bread your butter, Trumpster. My guess is that if any celebrity scandal touches the short fingered barbarian, he will get the nicest cell in the joint.

No comments: