Billionaire pledges to pay off Morehouse graduate's debt

[spencer rifle]

Our two oldest graduated debt-free - grants, scholarships, work. The oldest daughter got through Bachelor's AND Master's that way, always out-of state (Master's living in Manhattan and attending Columbia). She got no help from us (I work for county government), and she sometimes worked 5 jobs to be able to afford Columbia tuition and Manhattan living expenses.

Some of those in debt who benefited from this generous fellow's gift used what money they had for entertainment, easy living, and maintaining their lifestyle. They used loans for college but kept their own $ to live the lifestyle to which they had become accustomed. Our daughter met many of those at Columbia. Now their lack of discipline has been rewarded. Probably not his desired outcome, but hard to get around. Motives are a difficult thing to discern.

 

[AtTheMurph]

I would like to see how people handled the news. Did they go nuts? Did they spend a whole bunch


Also, how does that work from a tax tandpoint. Will they owe income taxes on that money? Or is there a gift tax of some sort? Maybe he will net up the donation to cover all of that.

Recipients are not taxed on gifts. The gifter would pay any gift tax due on top of making the gift.

My question is what message does this send to the kids who worked their way through school, had jobs, saved and made due with much less than the kids who borrowed everything and partied to their degrees.

 

[Kutnupe14]

Recipients are not taxed on gifts. The gifter would pay any gift tax due on top of making the gift.

My question is what message does this send to the kids who worked their way through school, had jobs, saved and made due with much less than the kids who borrowed everything and partied to their degrees.

The world isn't fair?

 

[IndyDave1776]

To that, I would say hard work is its own reward. No one deserved anything, so a gift to some isn't unfair....not that there won't probably be people who think it was unfair.

Yes, much like the parable of the hired help hired late in the day being paid the same as those hired first thing on the morning.

 

[HoughMade]

Yes, much like the parable of the hired help hired late in the day being paid the same as those hired first thing on the morning.

Bingo.

 

[Alamo]

Would be an interesting long term study to see how those who had their loans wiped out fare in comparison to those (if any) who managed to graduate without a loan debt. I suspect Robert Smith is not God.

 

[HoughMade]

Would be an interesting long term study to see how those who had their loans wiped out fare in comparison to those (if any) who managed to graduate without a loan debt. I suspect Robert Smith is not God.

Indeed. He did a nice thing for these young men, but ultimately, it's up to them to take this gift and make something out of it....as it is with pretty much every opportunity.