I am pretty impressed with MS...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is to donate $10 million (5.3 million pounds to help the victims of the South Asian tsunami, his manager Willi Weber says.
The donation from Schumacher was announced by Weber on a German television fundraising drive that on Tuesday evening received more than 34 million euros in pledges.

"It's so unfathomable and horrible what happened to so many people," Schumacher, who turned 36 on Monday, said in comments on his website. "One cannot simply blind it out. We're suffering with them."

The official death toll from the Asian tsunami on December 26 has climbed to around 150,000, with millions left homeless, hungry and threatened by disease.

Schumacher, driving for Ferrari, won his seventh F1 world title last year.

Schumi also lost a bodyguard in the tsunami, along with the bodyguard's 2 sub 5 year old children.

Nice!! I wonder what his bro will do ;)

If history holds true to form he'll probably donate 9.9 million, you know really close behind but wouldn't dare attempt to surpass his brother. ;)

I have not followed the donation pledges by celebrities, but hopefully everyone will follow suit if they have not already pledged donations for the terrible disaster. It would be nice to see donations from ALL sanctioning bodies of motorsports.

wow that's awesome image enhancement. now i can't hate shumi.

Yuh I read about this on another forum. Exactly how much is MS worth? I'm pretty sure 10 million wouldn't hurt his bank account.

his yearly salary was estimated at around $48 million in 2002. that's not including sponsor deals.

Yuh I read about this on another forum. Exactly how much is MS worth? I'm pretty sure 10 million wouldn't hurt his bank account.

Last year he made $80 million. $10m is pocketchange to him but still a good dead.

Last year he made $80 million. $10m is pocketchange to him but still a good dead.
Yeah, $10 million is still a substantial amount based on his yearly income. I mean it's the same as if you made $50,000 a year and donated $6,250 to a charity. 1/8 of your total yearly income is big. I'm sure he still has a very healthy bank account though. I donated $25 to Unicef, does that count for anything?

Yeah, $10 million is still a substantial amount based on his yearly income. I mean it's the same as if you made $50,000 a year and donated $6,250 to a charity. 1/8 of your total yearly income is big. I'm sure he still has a very healthy bank account though. I donated $25 to Unicef, does that count for anything?
it might be the same percentage wise, but i am sure that he has a much higher percentage of discretionary income than the guy making 50k, so it's not really the same. but good none the less.

Damn, 10 mil is impressive, regardless of his income.

I know that President Bush is worth the same as MS. Bush's 10K looks relatively small compare to what MS and othe celebs are contributing.

Noted, MS drives racecars for a living instead of managing how our nation responds to this tragedy while also managing a war on terror...as well as the other homeland tasks and worries that fill his life 24 hours a day.

Frankly, I think just being the President is a huge sacrifice in and of itself...not only on the person, but on his family and the rest of his life (can you imagine having Secret Service follow you for the rest of your life?). With that in mind, I'll cut Bush a break. His willingness to run for President shows his care and dedication to things like this more than any amount of $$ can.

Noted, MS drives racecars for a living instead of managing how our nation responds to this tragedy while also managing a war on terror...as well as the other homeland tasks and worries that fill his life 24 hours a day.

Frankly, I think just being the President is a huge sacrifice in and of itself...not only on the person, but on his family and the rest of his life (can you imagine having Secret Service follow you for the rest of your life?). With that in mind, I'll cut Bush a break. His willingness to run for President shows his care and dedication to things like this more than any amount of $$ can.

ROFL....

Bush the great altrustic humanitarian.....please.

ROFL....

Bush the great altrustic humanitarian.....please.


seriously, it's not like he was drafted for the presidency.

this is getting dangerously ot

For that matter I wonder if Gates donated anything? Did he fling a few grand at it like we would pocket change to a bum, or is he just sitting up on top of his huge pile of money laughing maniacally? :D

I know that President Bush is worth the same as MS. Bush's 10K looks relatively small compare to what MS and othe celebs are contributing.

I doubt Bush is worth half what MS is.

I doubt Bush is worth half what MS is.
In the eyes of God or monetarilly... :D

Seriously, I'm really proud of Schumie for this... I know hes rolling in cash, hookers, and cocaine--but 10million is such a vast sum of money that even for the megaultrarich it must seem like a huge financial hit.

But being rather synical for a moment... donations in the wake of such huge tragedy is such awesome publicity for anyone. The sum of choice for many celebs seems to be one-million dollars... and I just can't imagine you can purchase such safe, unadulturated positive publicity for cheaper. Regardless, its good to see the pocket books flying open without hesitation after such a monumental loss of life. :(

Steve

I'm impressed with Schumi and surprised to see only a few negative comments about it being 'pocket change' to him.

And for what it's worth, Schumacher is probably worth almost 50 times what Dubya is. Or at least what Dubya shows on paper.

I'm impressed with Schumi and surprised to see only a few negative comments about it being 'pocket change' to him.

And for what it's worth, Schumacher is probably worth almost 50 times what Dubya is. Or at least what Dubya shows on paper.

And I was being really generous in guessing what GW is worth. If you combine GW and his dad, it'd be significantly more of course, but even then I don't think it's in MS's neighborhood, and not even close for GW's alone.

Anyway, I just really hope he didn't donate it to any organization controlled by the UN, or that whole donation would probably end up amounting to 500 MREs and a couple mansions and Maybachs. :rolleyes

Maybe MS should save the trouble and just donate a couple mansions and Maybachs.

I doubt Bush is worth half what MS is.

well, he was in the oil business. and his family is on the board of carlyle group.

well, he was in the oil business. and his family is on the board of carlyle group.

I remember seeing Dubya's net worth somewhere...it was unimpressive. In the sub $10,000,000 range. Again, that's on paper. I'm sure Bush has oil and defense holdings that are worth millions of dollars.

when you said ms for some reason i was thinking microsoft....:( i am curious what gates donated as well. shumi is the man!

If I was extremely rich I'd do the same thing.
Way to go Shumi! :handclap

Gates is on record say that he plans to give away all of his money before he dies. This wasn't good enough for the government, they still want their cut. Thats why they sued.

BTW, what does Schumi pay in taxes? I bet he takes only $30 or $40 million of his $80 million home. So this is a significant chunk of income.

BTW, what does Schumi pay in taxes? I bet he takes only $30 or $40 million of his $80 million home. So this is a significant chunk of income.

He'll never even notice $10m gone. Think about how many years he's been making money and how many more years he will make tons of money. If he's smart with his money, he will be or already is (depending on what he's already made) a billionaire.

Also, there are big tax benefits when donating to charities, so that $10m out of pocket is greatly reduced when you factor in the tax reduction.

you're forgetting, 80m is what ferrari pays him. thru sponsorships and endorsements, he probably makes another 80.

you're forgetting, 80m is what ferrari pays him. thru sponsorships and endorsements, he probably makes another 80.

According to ESPN, $80m was his total income including sponsorships and endorsements in 2004.

ESPN rated him the 2nd highest paid athlete in 2004, behind Tiger Woods who out-earned him by approx. $300k... :eyecrazy

Regardless of how much money he makes and if someone he knew died in the tsunami, it's pretty amazing and says a lot about the guy that he's willing to donate that much for a good cause. :clap

BTW, what does Schumi pay in taxes? I bet he takes only $30 or $40 million of his $80 million home. So this is a significant chunk of income.


Schumi doesn't pay very much in taxes because he's registered as a resident of switzerland. The german gov't is actually suing him for some of the tax revenue they feel he owes them.

Correct,the swiss tax level is very low. Also remember that MS's family are already multi-millionares and he and his bro get it all when pop goes. But still a great thing to do, and think of the write off! Wow!
Just as a side note Bush is worth about 11,000,000 and dad Bush 21,000,000 if I remember correctly, Kerry and the Mrs.are worth about 745,000,000.00 Come on john step up to the plate.

Correct,the swiss tax level is very low. Also remember that MS's family are already multi-millionares and he and his bro get it all when pop goes. But still a great thing to do, and think of the write off! Wow!
Just as a side note Bush is worth about 11,000,000 and dad Bush 21,000,000 if I remember correctly, Kerry and the Mrs.are worth about 745,000,000.00 Come on john step up to the plate.


Hmmm... I think his dad was a car mechanic who then owned a Kart track...I'm almost certain his family was not especially wealthy :confused

but hey, don't let that get in the way of your prejudices...by all means.

I just hope they have good person(s) managing those large sums of money. Let's hope it doesn't get absorbed by too many different spongey hands...

$800 million has been collected so far.So it looks like Schumi has done his part with $10 mill.

Bump

I remember seeing Dubya's net worth somewhere...it was unimpressive. In the sub $10,000,000 range. Again, that's on paper. I'm sure Bush has oil and defense holdings that are worth millions of dollars. These holdings would be part of that net worth, although he would have to divest of any that would have a conflict of interest. Just like Chaney did before he became VP the first time. I'm surprised Bush gave anything to the relief, as it just opens up this kind of stuff. MS is a private citizen, W is a public official.