Steve Schwarzman is a billionaire and kind of a stingy one at that. Then again, how does one think he became a billionaire in the first place?
Anyway he is giving US$100 million to the New York Public Library which is nice, but ah… there’s a proviso.
The NYPL will name the library on 42nd Street after him. You know, the one with the lions?
The Wealth Report from the Wall Street Journal has the story.
never been keen on…
I’ve never been keen on this whole Not-dead people getting structures named after them thing. Time was, you had to be a notable person and die (and probably leave behind a generous endowment) to get something named after you. Now you just have to have a big ego and pony up a lot of cash. Me no likey.
at these prices
For $100 million be can tattoo his name on my ass, call me “Susan” and make me wear a leash at the reference desk.
Generosity like that should be rewarded with an honor like naming the main branch for him. People usually save up the stuff for some yahoo civil war general or 2nd string vice-presidents.
at least
It’s not going to be the Abercrombie & Fitch Library or the Enery Solutions Library or the Target, Toyota or Office Depot Library.
If you’re interested in this issue, check out this website, they are doing good work:
Commercial Alert
…and here’s the other, commercial side of the coin FYI: Naming Rights Online (if you’re looking for something to be named after you …
$101 Million?
so if I come up with $101 Million, will they take down his name and put up mine?
“Welcome to the NY Effing Public Library.”
Wait, I think there’s some change under these cushions.
A Fable
A rich man offers a beautiful woman $100,000 to sleep with him and pleasure him in any way he desires. After thinking upon it and deciding that she needed the money, she accepted his indecent proposal.
After the night was over he handed her a hundred bucks.
“A hundred dollars!” she said, seriously insulted. “What kind of woman do you think I am?”
He paused for a moment and replied “We’ve already worked out what kind of woman you are, now we’re just haggling over price.”
Some books contain the machinery required to create and sustain universes. Tycho
(Jerry Holkins) @ Penny Arcade
Place names, the place — place names, the name
I think it’s sort of bizarre to name a building after someone (unless they’re dead and beloved). If I had gobs of money to throw at a library – and I vow one day I will! – I would name it something fun and/or hilarious.
Also, it isn’t very useful to name a library the “Steve Schwarzman NYPL”. That’s relatively useless metadata, in my opinion.