There's certainly a mixed bag of opinions here!
I suppose part of considering whether he is a philanthropist or not is in your understanding of exactly what philanthropy is. To me, it is "the act of giving with the intention to help". Whether it be time, advice, money, assets, knowledge or whatever. So based on my understanding he is most certainly a philanthropist.
But, is he a philanthropist with an alternative agenda of personal gain? Possibly - whether it be concious or sub-concious.
But who can TRULY say that when they perform an act of philanthropy that they aren't expecting SOMETHING in return. *** NOONE *** can. If you say you're not, you're lying. You may not think the return is significant, or tangible, but there certainly is something you get in return - whether it be a warm fuzzy feeling, all the way up the scale to a monetary gain.
Grain of salt on this one - as whatever way you look at it, he HAS GIVEN a lot, in a lot of different ways to people in all corners of the globe. And that, is something he should be proud of.
