The ostentatious altruism of the super-rich begs an important question: How did they amass such vast fortunes? Andrew Carnegie, for example, a celebrated philanthropist who left an impressive legacy of charitable foundations and institutions in his wake, obtained that vast wealth by ruthlessly exploiting the labor of impoverished immigrants, both adults and children, and crushing any of their efforts to bargain collectively for a better share of the profits or less oppressive and dangerous working conditions. It’s easy to be generous when you have gained such economic power by brutal exploitation.