Elon Musk Backs Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrongs Claim That Charity Is Often a Net Negative for the World

Coinbase Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong sparked debate over the value of philanthropy this week after describing charity and philanthropic foundations as often a "net negative" for the world, comments that drew agreement from Elon Musk and criticism from others online.

Armstrong made the remarks during an appearance on "The Katie Miller Podcast," hosted by Katie Miller, a former adviser to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency initiative who launched the show earlier this year. "The common view is that philanthropy is a noble cause," Armstrong said, according to a clip shared by Miller on X on Aug. 26. "And like, Bill Gates after the DOJ thing is like, 'I'm going to go rehabilitate my image, I'm going to do philanthropy.'"

Armstrong went on to lay out a broader critique of institutional charitable giving. "I guess I have sort of a contrarian view where a lot of charities and philanthropies are actually net negative on the world. And they get captured. It's actually remarkably hard to find a foundation that has not gotten captured by ideology," Armstrong said, according to reporting from Yahoo Finance. "I think a lot of people, by trying to do something good, like criminal justice reform, it turns out they just increased crime. All these unintended consequences happen." Armstrong did not cite specific data supporting the criminal justice reform claim during the segment, according to Yahoo Finance's coverage of the interview.

As an example of what he views as institutional drift within philanthropy, Armstrong pointed to the Ford Foundation. "If you look at the Ford Foundation, I think Henry Ford would be turning over in his grave if he knew what they were up to," he said. Armstrong also said that financial advisers had previously encouraged him to establish his own charitable foundation for tax purposes after Coinbase went public, but that he declined out of concern the organization could eventually be steered away from his original intentions. "So far, I've just been like 'I'm not going to do that.' My fear is that it just gets captured by some ideology and I lose control over it," Armstrong said.

Instead of a traditional foundation, Armstrong said he directs his charitable giving through a donor-advised fund, a vehicle that places donated assets under the legal control of a sponsoring nonprofit organization while allowing the original donor to recommend how the funds are invested and eventually distributed, according to the Internal Revenue Service's description of the structure. Armstrong said he uses the fund to support projects he believes are "helping civilization advance."

Armstrong's comments mark a notable shift from his public stance nearly a decade ago. In 2018, he became the first cryptocurrency billionaire to sign the Giving Pledge, the public commitment organized by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates in which wealthy individuals promise to donate at least half of their fortunes to charitable causes during their lifetimes or through their estates. At the time, Armstrong argued that once personal wealth reaches a certain threshold, there is limited value in spending additional money on personal consumption. He later shut down his crypto-focused nonprofit, GiveCrypto, in 2023, and quietly withdrew from the Giving Pledge altogether in 2024, a decision his recent podcast remarks appear to help explain.

As video of the interview circulated online, Musk responded directly on X. "He's right," Musk wrote, endorsing Armstrong's characterization of institutional philanthropy. The comment aligns with previous remarks Musk has made regarding his own approach to charitable giving. Musk signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, though his actual philanthropic contributions have remained relatively modest compared with his overall net worth, with a 5.7 billion dollar donation of Tesla shares to his foundation standing as his largest single charitable contribution to date.

Musk's skepticism toward large-scale institutional philanthropy has been documented previously. Billionaire investor Peter Thiel said in 2025 that he had urged Musk to withdraw from the Giving Pledge, warning that Musk's wealth would otherwise end up "to left-wing nonprofits that will be chosen by Bill Gates." According to Thiel's account, Musk responded, "What am I supposed to do—give it to my children? You know, it would be much worse to give it to Bill Gates."

Armstrong's remarks have not gone unchallenged. Critics online noted that Armstrong has previously banned political activism within Coinbase's own workplace even as the company and Armstrong personally have contributed financially to political candidates, including President Donald Trump, framing that combination as inconsistent with his stated concerns about ideological capture within philanthropic institutions. Neither Armstrong nor Musk has issued further public comment beyond their respective remarks since the clip began circulating widely online.