Yao gave $500,000 Yuan of his NBA money to the victims from the earthquake in China and gets dissed for his stingy donation. Comments??
Yao's 'stingy' China quake donation sparks debate
1 day ago
BEIJING (AFP) — On a day when Deng Xiaoping's widow gave her entire life savings to China's earthquake relief, it didn't pass unnoticed here that sporting icon Yao Ming was a little less generous with his own donation.
China's richest celebrity donated 500,000 yuan (70,000 dollars) to a relief fund, sparking fierce criticism on the Internet that it was too little from a basketball hero known for his charity work.
"A bit stingy isn't it?" one fan wrote.
The 7.9-magnitude quake in China's southwest Sichuan province likely killed some 50,000 people, according to government estimates, with the official toll already nearly 29,000 but countless thousands missing or believed buried under the rubble of devastated towns.
Yao, the 2.26-metre (seven-foot-six-inch) Houston Rockets centre, has been at the top of the Forbes magazine list of richest Chinese celebrities for the past five years.
Last year he earned some 55 million dollars from basketball and sponsorship activities.
His initial offer of 500,000 yuan triggered its own "earthquake of protest,' Maopu (www.mop.com), a top entertainment website, said.
Critics maintain that the donation was loose change to a man who makes more than that with one promotional photo shoot.
"If 500,000 dollars -- not to mention 500,000 yuan -- disappeared from his bank account, he wouldn't even notice," said one fan.
Internet criticism of Yao forced the basketball star to up his donation to 2,000,000 yuan later in the week, according to media reports.
Criticism of sporting heroes is unusual in China where they are often seen as national icons.
Yao is known for his charity work, raising more than a million dollars for under-privileged Chinese children last year and devoting time and energy toward helping stage the 2007 Special Olympics in his home city of Shanghai.
But some Chinese are not slow to attack Yao when it comes to money, accusing him of not giving enough of his enormous wealth back to his home country.
"He's been drinking milk and eating bread (like an American) for a while and he's forgotten where he comes," one posting said. "You are Chinese!"
Though supporters were outnumbered by critics, many people agreed with one commentator who said that contributions were a personal matter, and "whatever Yao gives is his business."
On Friday, China's state media reported that Zhuo Lin, 92-year-old widow of China's late leader Deng, had emptied her life savings totalling 100,000 yuan to give to earthquake victims.
It said she found it hard to sleep and eat after hearing of the tragedy.
State media have played up donations by leaders, business entrepreneurs and others, but donations by the poor have also caught the public eye.
A migrant worker, at the bottom rung of China's labour market, donated 600 yuan which amounted to his entire monthly salary.
"It might not seem like much, but when you consider it's his whole month's income he gave far more than Yao Ming," said one commentator.
Last edited by Indazone; 05-20-2008 at 01:05 PM.
Doesn't the Chinese government get 50-60% of everything Yao makes -- including both his NBA contract and sponsorships? I think even his former team owner in China gets a percentage.
After taxes and the percentage China takes from him, Yao's $55M probably looks more like $15M.
mo' money, mo' problems
IIRC he has finally managed to get out of this arrangement at the beginning the season but basically, yeah, he's already given tons of cash to his country.
fok china they are a booming economy, they hold stacks of AMERICAN treasury notes and bonds, them kents, if you have money to buy iron, ore an uranium, and spend billions on the PLA....a few million out of ur budget doesnt hurt.
yao ming donated which was voluntarily at his descression, the thought is what it matters.
if there is one country that needs it, its probably burma at the moment, but they got a d up govt just like china, north korea. Fukn me myself i.
. This is not birthday gift bro. These people lost everything. The thought alone dont count.
He should have donated more. 70k is nothing for some1 like him. Its his home country. even for stupid reasons like reputation and image he should have donated more. Never mind, feeling like helping his people at the time of need.
BTW im a big fan of Yao so im not here to hate on him, but i do think he should have done more than 70k
He did commercials for the Red Cross. He put time into it too.
He should have donated more. 70k is nothing for some1 like him. Its his home country. even for stupid reasons like reputation and image he should have donated more. Never mind, feeling like helping his people at the time of need.
BTW im a big fan of Yao so im not here to hate on him, but i do think he should have done more than 70k
Cut the guy some slack...
$70,000 is a bit weak IMO.
Of course it's a lot of money. And no he didn't need to do anything. So whatever money or time he gives speaks well of him.
But him being their Michael Jordan if you will, I'd think that the people of China, aswell as many here in the states, would expect a bigger donation coming from him.
$70,000 is less than half of one games pay for him. Per game, he earned roughly $168,000.
Hogwash. Nationalistic nonsense. Americans give more foreign aid annually than any other country in the world. We are also among the first respondents with the heaviest payload.
If we're speaking in absolutes, then he gave $70,000, which is far more than most people gave. Since "the thought doesn't count", that $700 didn't count for much at all, then, and the person should be rebuked for not giving more.
Wow, so he's only allowed to donate once? Maybe he wanted to travel to China to see the damage for himself before determining how much he gives?He should have donated more. 70k is nothing for some1 like him. Its his home country. even for stupid reasons like reputation and image he should have donated more. Never mind, feeling like helping his people at the time of need.
That kind of "what have you done for me lately" at ude is so incredibly short-sighted and selfish. Who cares whether Yao has given a lot of money to China in the past? China is hurting and looking for individuals to be upset with, and if he doesn't immediately give $400,000,000 to his country, he's a failure. Maybe Yao thought he would be able to wait a week or two to donate money, since China's relief agencies are probably struggling to deal with all the influx of cash right now anyway? Perhaps Yao even wanted to personally oversee where his donation went to, or maybe he wanted to spearhead a re-development project after all the media hoopla has died down?
Did you give more than 70k? Keep in mind, this is REAL, and it's money, so it's not the thought that counts. Don't try to sentimentally give $400 and pretend it's going to help as many people as his donation.BTW im a big fan of Yao so im not here to hate on him, but i do think he should have done more than 70k
Maybe he should have donated the money to all the nail shops in America. I'm sure they would have appreciated it.
Same kinda crap they gave Bill Gates. Noo Gates didn't donate enough money to charity. Richest guy in America. He's not philanthropist. Now look at Gates. Biggest charity ever in the Bill Gates Foundation. People without money always bagging on the ones that got it. But that's ok. Maybe they don't give right away because eventually Gates set up a huge foundation. Don't think people yammering on about how little or how much a rich person gives makes any difference.
Absolutely not true.
US might, I am not sure cause I don't have the numbers in front of me, give more in nominal terms, but in terms of percentage it's way beyond most European countries.
Also, when you consider that the main recepients of US aid are Israel, Egypt, and Colombia, it makes it even easier to criticize since neither of those countries really cry out for help.
As for Yao, I agree with what someone earlier said. China has already taken millions from him, it should STFU. With his endorsments Yao could be one of the richest athletes in the world, yet in the latest top 20 rankings that I read he was not. And 55 mill would put him in the top 7-8 as, so he clearely did not pocket it all. I remember Ronaldinho and Beckham were in the 40 range and they were 5-10. The top ones, Woods, Schumacher, are way beyond anyone.
It's easy for critics to blast him when it's not their money that's being earned.
What a cheap bas .
What the do you expect from a country full of socialists?
It's his damn money and he can do whatever the he wants with it, and I'm not going to criticize how he uses it.
As someone pointed out, the Communist Gov't get enough of his money as it is.
So how much did each of you donate?
the thing that pisses me off the most about this story is that when yao does donate more money he will be ripped for it too. he is screwed either way. yao donates 70k to start then he donates more for a total of 500k but the only thing that gets attention is the initial 70k. this is so stupid.
I remember this thread back when it was Katrina and Lance Armstrong.
JB, why are your people so greedy?
the critics - it's not their money.
There is no scorecard for charity, and there shouldn't be. If you think this guy or that guy "should" give X percent, go yourself. Who the made you God?
I am a Chinese from Hong Kong. From what I have read, the first day after the earthquake, Yao Ming donated 500,000 yuan (70,000 dollars) through his agent in China. At the same time, he donated another 1.5 million yuan (214,000 US dollars) to the Red Cross in the US. So he donated a total of 2 million yuan (280,000 US dollars).
Last edited by pwilliam; 05-20-2008 at 12:29 AM.
What do athletes really need with all that money? One house not enough?
How much did you donate v2freak?
$70,000 is about 2-3 days of his pay after tax.
That means for your average working people, half week of your pay in the same ratio. Now, unless your self has ever made a donation in this proportion, please stfu and get a job...
At least he gave something. Some people are such es. 70,000 is a lot of money. Apparently he's given a total of $500,000 so far. Now that is a load of money and should make a big difference.
Let's also not forget that Yao never said that this was all that he was going to do to help.
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