«Europeans have been illegal immigrants in Africa for centuries. They looted. They trafficked human beings. They massacred… This is the consequence”. It’s the shocking message written on the blue hull of Solidairethe last ship in the NGO fleet of the sea, which brings migrants to Italy. The owner is the Argentine actor, pilot and philanthropist, born in Genoa, Enrique Piñeyrowhich in collaboration with the Spanish of Open Arms set sail a true flagship 66 meters long, 15 meters wide and with a deck of 353 square metres. Piñeyro it’s a detail in the club of the super rich, especially Americans.
Panorama traces the map of philanthropists who earn and spend staggering sums. Nicoletta Denticoauthor of the book Rrich and good? – The dark plots of philanthrocapitalism (Emi), maintains that the “humanitarian” visions of the foundations of the very rich and generous, from John Rockefeller to Bill Clinton And Mark Zuckerberg«they are powerful instruments of planetary control». There are 2,562 billionaires in the world: 746 in America, 470 in China and 180 in India. According to the magazine Forbes the 400 “Scrooges” in the United States have assets of 4.5 trillion dollars. And the rich invest 190 billion dollars in philanthropy. The largest portion of donations, 91 billion, comes from the USA followed by Europe with over 60 billion.
The Old Continent has 180 thousand foundations which, in the last 20 years, have helped 2.8 million NGOs and charitable organizations with France and Germany at the peak of contributions, followed by Holland and Italy. Sometimes with questionable ideas like those of Piñeyro: «One of the things that most outrages me about what is happening in the world is how a rich and powerful continent like Europe has filled Africa with illegal immigrants (the Europeans themselves), who did not arrive with boats or dinghies but with weapons.” The Argentine philanthropist adds: «Years later, people from those already plundered places have to migrate to seek the livelihood that was taken from them and Europeans look the other way. It’s truly scandalous.”
Piñeyro he is a 67 year old Italian-Argentinian, who inherited a fortune from his grandfather’s family, Agostino Roccafounder of the group Techint. The “rebel millionaire”, a cross between Che Guevara and Michael Moore, created with his wife, Carla Calabresethe foundation Solidaire in 2021. At first, as a pilot of two Boeing owned by him, he went to collect Ukrainian, Afghan or Sudanese refugees; it happened with a last mission on October 16th. Then he purchased and rehabilitated the ship that flies the Panamanian flag after meeting Oscar Campsthe former lifeguard who founded the Spanish NGO Open Armsgreat accuser of Matteo Salvini in the Palermo trial. The Solidaire ship was on sale for 4 million 750 thousand dollars and various works were carried out to be able to embark even a thousand migrants in an emergency. Operating costs are around 25 thousand euros per week according to a source Panorama. On November 23rd, 50 people from Guinea, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Eritrea, Sudan disembarked from Solidaire, in Ortona, Abruzzo, all males, including minors, who had left Libya. «The flagships cost a million euros a year» observes the veteran of one of the most important NGOs. «The doubt, after decades in the field and at sea, is that the big donors want to clean up some money or guarantee themselves a do-gooder image that is different from reality. Even just in terms of contacts and influence there is always a return.”
Piñeyro and his wife remember another couple of “benefactors”, who in reality also did business, Christopher and Regina Catrambonealso with Italian origins, founders of Moas. Between 2014 and 2017, during missions in the Mediterranean and Aegean, with the Phoenix ship, the NGO advertised that it had rescued 40 thousand migrants, almost all of whom were brought to Italy, despite the headquarters being in Malta. And the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella had appointed Regina, born in Reggio Calabria, Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for her humanitarian contribution. The couple has always claimed to have paid eight million dollars of their own money for the rescue missions. According to the 2015 financial statements, however, almost two million euros from the donors ended up in the coffers of the founders’ private companies for the rental of the ship. Moas abandoned the Mediterranean and reappeared in a “combat” version with 150 doctors, rescuers, drivers and 50 ambulances on the front line in Ukraine “since the first day” of the Russian invasion, claiming to have saved 60 thousand lives. “Money is power and philanthropy is one of the ways to assert one’s influence in society,” he said Katherina Rosquetawho directs the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania.
America is the El Dorado of do-gooder philanthropists. In first place is always Warren Buffett, who is 93 years old and has a fortune of 131 billion dollars: in his life he donated 56.7 billion. There is no shortage of them among the top ten Bill and Melinda Gatesnow separated, who have donated more than 20 percent of their assets, gaining “an influence on the scene of international politics with a presence and penetration that is too invasive” underlines Dentic. «The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation stands out in the race for the anti-Covid vaccine. Just a case?” he wrote in his book. “Not exactly. They are examples of the emptying, carried out by private individuals, of the highest international bodies in the public sphere.”
The boomerang effect on the founder of Microsoft is beginning to be felt, starting with Africa, after “buying” the control of diseases such as polio and financing entire offices of the World Health Organization. The High Court of Kenya has suspended the foundation’s “privileges and immunities”. Gates obtained on September 19th. George Soros is another member of the Olympus of US philanthropists, as Mackenzie Scottwho he divorced from Jeff Bezos in 2019, obtaining 4 percent of Amazon shares ($38 billion). In his life he donated 16.58 billion “with an emphasis on economic, racial and gender equality”. Certainly good intentions: but then it turns out that in the USA “for every dollar invested in his private foundation, the billionaire recovers up to 74 cents in tax breaks”. The co-founder of Netflix, Reed Hastingsfinancier of the defeated White House candidate, Kamala Harrishelped unidentified charities with $1.8 billion. The timing of the charitable donations has raised suspicions about his foundation’s use as a tax loophole. «After making a fortune, you want to make the world in your image and likeness to shape it according to your personal ideas» declares a Panorama, Marco Bassaniexpert on the United States and professor at UniPegaso. Not to mention the “Taliban” of philanthropy, such as Solidaire in the United States, “born from the need to fight against corporate greed, economic inequality, climate change, gender and racial injustice.” A network that mobilizes to obtain funds for projects that seem to have jumped out of the language of Vladimir Lenin. They managed to raise “only” 15,721,688 in 2023.
The donation business is expanding to countries like India “where there is the highest increase in billionaires in the world” he observes Dentic. «And even in Africa philanthropists emerge after understanding that it is a tool of influence». Europe is no exception, with particular attention to migrants. The European Philanthropic Initiative for Migration is an important and long-standing foundation that wants a continent «where migration is accepted as part of its history, present and future, where migrants belong, affirm their rights and have the energy to shape the their future.”
He was one of Europe’s greatest politically correct philanthropists Ingvar Kampradbillionaire founder of Ikea. Meanwhile the foundation Robert Boscha famous German industrialist, maintains that «philanthropy is not neutral (…) foundations should never be impartial or hide behind the pretext of neutrality». On the contrary, they must “exploit their political power and engage in politics” to change society. Among the top ten EU foundations is the Swedish Zennström Philanthropies, born thanks to Catherine and Niklas Zennströmwho invented Skype. Their “mission” is to help “organizations that fight for human rights and work to stop climate change.” Help could not be missing from Asgi, the Association of Italian jurists who fight for “open doors”; and that funding was used to draw up the Report on the detention of migrants in Italy.
