--- title: "Billionaire Coinbase CEO Boasts That He Would Never Donate to Charity" description: "In a recent appearance on the Katie Miller Podcast, Billionaire Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called charity a \"net negative on the world.\"" date: "2026-08-31" modified: "2026-08-31" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/billionaire-coinbase-ceo-brian-miller-charity-philanthropy-crypto" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Finance" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" --- # Billionaire Coinbase CEO Boasts That He Would Never Donate to Charity ![Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong speaks onstage during the 2025 New York Times Dealbook Summit.]() *Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/Futurism* There was a time in the United States when the richest moguls, regardless of their many personal shortcomings, [embraced philanthropy]() in a cynical effort to keep the angry mobs at bay. Andrew Carnegie famously built libraries, John D Rockefeller helped fund research that eventually eradicated hookworm, while JP Morgan donated vast collections of art and books to museums and other cultural institutions. Today's robber barons aren't in such a giving mood. Sure, there are some figures like Microsoft's Bill Gates — who has [plenty of his own problems](), to be clear — but they seem to be quickly becoming the minority. Case in point, the billionaire CEO of cyrpto-trading company Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, recently [went on a tirade]() about how charity is actually a "net negative on the world." "The common view is that philanthropy is a noble cause," Amstrong said during a recent appearance on the [right-wing *Katie Miller Podcast*](). "And like, Bill Gates after the DoJ thing is like, 'I'm going to go rehabilitate my image, I'm going to do philanthropy.'" That's a fool's errand to Armstrong, however, as such philanthropic aspirations — selfish as they are — can become "captured by ideology." "I guess I have sort of a contrarian view where a lot of charities and philanthropies are actually net negative on the world," Armstrong continued. "And they get captured. It's actually remarkably hard to find a foundation that has not gotten captured by ideology." Though Amstrong's estimated net worth of around $8.7 billion puts him in the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent, he says that "so far, I've just been like 'I'm not going to do that.'**"** **More on tech billionaires:** *[AI Billionaires Are So Greedy That They're Supercharging Sales of Yachts and Private Jets]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()