And furthermore, this was an easy Google search result, first page.

Developer Pays So Others Can Play
By Herky Cush of The Sentinel Staff, April 18, 1999
LADY LAKE - One million smackers.Gary Morse, developer of The Villages, is putting up big bucks for a charity tournament today featuring three of the top LPGA golfers. Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez will be pitted against Juli Inkster and Helen Alfredsson in the $1 million Villages Charity Challenge.The three will tee off at 10 a.m. at the Tierra del Sol Golf and Country Club. Tickets for the event are $10.The tournament will be televised on a tape-delayed basis by FOX Sport Net from 2 to 4 p.m. June 26 and rebroadcast at another date to be determined.

The players also donated 90% of the prize money to charity. Also from a Google search.

Amen!!! :bigbow:

Jesus made it very clear that you should NOT do your good works just to be seen of other men. You should do your good works in private.

I care about one thing with respect to TV and the developer...am I getting value from the money I spend. (And I feel like that's up to me or I shouldn't spend the money in the first place.) If I am, then I don't care how much money the developer makes or what he does with it.

:BigApplause:

IMO Do you really think billionaire's give there money away? They contribute for leverage and control the money they get tax deductions for and probably kickbacks. Wake up very few people are truely Charitable and very few Charities have small overhead which means most of the money donated don't really trickle down to the ones that need it. Gates, Buffet, Turner and Bloomberg not donating there money for no reason they also get something out of it. I like how buffet said his secertary pays more taxes than him! Da!! that's cause she don't have room full of lawyers stealing from the government cheating on taxes. If he was really concerned and half the man he thinks he is HE WOULD PAY HIS FAR SHARE and keep his mouth shut, But that has no advanage for him.

Thank-you.

Yes, my first post, but I signed up earlier this month because I was going to comment on a Veterans Post, but someone had already offered some good advice...so there was no point adding the same info.

I am really a just a lurker...who reads the forum every once in awhile. I only added my opinion on this...well...I just wanted someone to be polite and did not want the OP to feel bad.

Cheers-Katie

I really doubt that anybody buys into TV on a whim. Very few people come here for any other reason except to retire. I'm guessing that people either visit or rent first and then make their decision to buy after some careful consideration. To buy into the concept of "The Viilages" is to buy into the vision and offering of Gary Morse & his organization.

Nobody has a gun to their heads to buy into TV. So it makes me wonder if someone has a serious problem with Gary Morse, his operations, his politics, his charitable giving and whatnot, WHY in the world would somebody buy in and thus enrich Gary Morse? It makes no sense. It's hypocritical.

If somebody's got a serious problem with how Gary Morse runs HIS empire, then there are lots of choices right within this area. Stonecrest..Spruce Creek South, Spruce Creek Golf Club, Legacy of Leesburg, Top Of The World and so on. None of these other communities as far as I know are CDD communities.

Del Webb was a rich man who built lots of 55+ retirement communities. Was he a bad man because he risked HIS capital to build? If not, then why does Gary Morse garner so much static for doing not only the same thing..but doing the same thing better? He risked HIS money, HIS name and HIS reputation to build this enterprise. So apparently HE does not deserve the financial reward for the risks HE took?

Gary personally may be a creep. He might be as much fun as a barrel of monkeys. Many people who are geniuses are VERY odd people. Many of them are not fun to talk to because they are obcessed with whatever it is that they are good at and can't talk about anything else. Had McDonalds been left to the operations of the McDonald brothers, it is likely that McDonalds would have been nothing more than a regional southern California burger chain. It took the vision of Ray Kroc to make McDonalds what it became. However, Ray Kroc was a miserable human being who had a bad habit of stealing the wives of his franchise owners. Gary's father may have started The Villages Project, but it took Gary's genius & vision to take the original Villages from a collection of small trailer parks into what it is today.

HE risked the capital, HE had the vision and HE put in the work to make it come to reality. HE gets to reap the rewards. As far as I can see he doesn't owe anybody an explanation of how much he makes, what he owns, what or what he does not give to charity or whether he wears boxers, briefs or goes commando.

Hmmmmm. that commando part sounds interesting. Maybe I'll Google & see if I can find out what he does or doesn't wear. :1rotfl::1rotfl:

I agree. I also agree it is okay to Google the man to see what his charitable interests might be, or his other characteristics... the same way you would a politician so you could know as much as you possibly can about the man you are about to put your money/support with. You used to not be able to do this so easily before the internet. I think the web has helped people gain more knowledge, for their own personal good. And I will defend the right to gather information. If you are a person of integrity, you will not use it to anyone's detriment.

It's all out there on the web. You can hear about it on TV, read about it in People Magazine, or look it up on the internet. Nothing illegal about that, and we all should be careful what information we put out there.

And that's all I'm going to say on this subject.

Yes, sometimes I think they do for no other reason than to feel good about themselves. A relative married into the family of one of the top billionaires in the country. His worth $3.1 Billion. He is extremely generous. Trips for the entire family around the globe, use of all yachts, gifts, etc, etc. I don't believe any is done for any reason other than personal satisfaction.

it's not any of my business, however i also am courious. I am a firm believer in helping others if at all possible.

Frankly, what the Morse's do with their wealth is none of my business just as it is none of my concern as to what anyone does with their wealth. If one did know, then there would be a discussion as to the merits of any charitable contributions made by the family. Some seem to be curious because of the level of wealth but to me it is a matter of privacy. We should respect others' privacy just as we would want our own privacy respected by others. I am now stepping off the box.

This was a much smaller place in 1987 and so was the place in Michigan that Gary Morse hailed from. His dad came I think from the Chicago area and he is the one that started the original trailer park.

No one really knows much about them, but it doesn't seem like the family were builders or civic planners or decorators or architects or Disney Dreamers.

Somehow they learned to do all of those things and built a much better mouse trap than anyone else. The quintessential American Dream. What we were all raised on.

What if the Morse family was just like our own family with pride in what they accomplished and could get their feelings hurt with these kinds of criticisms? What if they were REAL people and they read this forum. I think I would if I were them. No body knows. It seems just as mean Mickey to assume that they do NOT have feelings just because they have made a lot of money.

To me that is an ugly kind of jealousy and class envy and very mean indeed.

They have become VERY wealthy in the last ten years. They didn't stop being people.

I don't know but in my book the fact that all of the people that work either directly or indirectly because of the developer is more than enough contribution. The family that created the dream that is TV has created more wealth for others than 99.9999% of the rest of us have.

Perfectly said Gracie!!!!

:agree: Mickey I agree. Some of the comments are a bit harsh and I think you ask a good faith question out of curiosity. The Developer has given back to the community i.e. land for the schools and discounted land for churches that I've heard about. What else?? After all charity up to a point is a tax deduction and all good business people are looking for tax deductions. Give Mickey a break....

Ahh..where to start? First off in this form billionaires is a plural, not a possessive and does not need an apostrophy. The correct use of (there) is actually (their).

Well let's start the list...The family names of Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, Gates, Buffett, Turner, Ford, Meyerhoff & Wynn come to mind. Quite frankly is doesn't matter WHY they do it. The fact that they do it and the ultimate benefit to the people it goes to is the real matter. I don't exactly care about their political, social or personal reasons. Can your charitable giving equal the percentage of your wealth that these people have given away?

"Friendly Villagers" are reacting to a snide, mean-spirited question that was designed from the get-go to be another opportunity to bash Gary Morse. What Gary does or does not do with his money is 100% none of your business. You started the fire and now you're acting surprised that the fire is burning.

I don't think that OP was trying to "bash the Morse's"---- not at all. That is looking at the post from a negative point of view. By listing the "family" contributions to the Community could be considered something very positive IMHO. I don't see the point of "bashing" Mickey. And I might add----don't have any idea who "Mickey" might be.

personally, I find it admirable that gary morse, his family or even anyone here on totv willingly contributes to a personal favorite charity and does NOT seek the limelight of publicity in doing so - as do folks like bates and buffett!

All in fun, too much sun! Wait .... OP could be justjim! ..... hmmmmmm. I personally think OP was stirring the pot and did a mighty fine job at that. "Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble." I'll bet he/she doesn't live here and has never visited. Wait ..... unless he/she got fired by the Developer .... hmmmmm. Tee Time.

Xavier

To my knowledge, Gary Morse is not running for public office. That is the only reason I know of why a person should disclose all their holdings/income/contributions/taxes.

But then, very few of the millionaires in Congress voluntarily disclose their wealth and donations:

"...Just 17 out of the 535 members of Congress released their most recent tax forms or provided some similar documentation of their tax liabilities in response to requests from McClatchy over the last three months. Another 19 replied that they wouldn’t release the information, and the remainder never responded to the query..."

Read more here: Most members of Congress keep their tax returns secret | McClatchy

"Apostrophe".

Sorry, mack.......I just had to do it. :jester:

Pardon the interruption/hijack everyone- - - - - - carry on! :D

Bill :wave:

Website
 

Just go to Google and put in Gary Morse and then Mark Morse....a lot of interesting articles there.

Uhhhh
 

And you thiink there was no publicity value considering it was 1999, 14 years ago soon?

Anyone that pays taxes has contributed plenty.

The Sounds of Reason
 

:bigbow::agree::bigbow:


www.mashable.com/2010/12/09/mark-zuckerberg/

Along with 57 other multi-millionaire and billionaire families and individuals, including Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Carl Icahn, by signing the pledge Zuckerberg promised to give more than half of his wealth to charity, either during his lifetime or after his death.

Touche! :o

The family gives a huge amount of money to the charter school system. Huge!

Not only have they provided over 100,000 people with a beautiful lifestyle, but they have provided tens of thousands of people with jobs. They have provided the federal government with millions and perhaps billions of dollars in tax revenue. Where would all those people be working today if not for this development
Think of all the people that work for the Villages, the restaurants, hotels and stores in Villages. All of those people pay federal taxes and spend money in the state paying Florida State sales taxes. What would this area of this state would be like if the Villages didn't exist.
How about the people who own stock in places like Publix and other businesses that have successful branches in and around the Villages. Think of all those people making a few extra dollars on those stocks because the Villages exist.
And don;t forget, all of the aforementioned people not only pay taxes to the various governments but also contribute large amounts of money to charities.

I think that we have to look at all of the charitible donation made by Villages residents and people who work for and in and around the Villages and realize that Gary Morse and his family should get at least partial credit for all that.

And one poor soul up north a dream.


:pray::pray:

Bill, are you from Canada? If not, the period goes inside the quotation marks... i.e., "Apostrophe."

Sorry--I just had to do it too!:evil6:

Carry on. :popcorn:

No Cost
 

************************************************** ****

From another Posters Post: https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...al-wall-37261/

Death of The Villages Veterans Celebration and Display of The Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall
Since there was NO approval for use of the Polo Field, Mulberry Plaza, Colony Plaza or any other site within The Villages or any other alternate proposal forthcoming from The Developer or any of his organizations, The Villages Veterans Celebration has been cancelled. The Wall is not coming to the Villages.

Since it is quite obvious that nothing goes on within the Developers Organization without Mark Morse knowing about it then it is quite obvious that Mark Morse killed the Veterans Parade and Celebration and The Wall.

Was it because his employees failed to give him the full story, or because he wasn’t making any money from the Veterans Celebration, or a desire to ignore just to ignore those pesky residents who are always asking for something; perhaps the celebration did conflict with the graduation party, maybe it was arrogance, laziness or insensitivity by Mark's advisors?

It really doesn’t matter since if Mark Morse wanted the Veterans Celebration a way would have been found. If Mark Morse cared about bringing the Vietnam Memorial Traveling Wall to The Villages someone would have checked with The Vendor to fully understand its installation requirements. Maybe if Mark knew someone who was a Veteran, or one of his children was now serving in the Armed Forces his attitude might have been different.

TOGETHER WE CARE – DO THEY?

You can start
 

Maybe if you list your income and show how much your charitable deductions are, and list what else you do for the less fortunate without a tax break, then maybe you could start a CONVERSATION. Until then, if the sun is shinning, go outside.

Impossible to See the Forest for All The Trees
 

Originally Posted by mickey100

The question was raised in another thread about whether or not the Developer had made some contributions for the good of humanity as a whole such as building a new school or hospital which will not directly benefit themselves financially other than maybe being named after them. The post went on to say that maybe we would all feel better if we knew more about the generosity shown by the Developer when it did not directly benefit him/them.

I have never heard about the Morses supporting a charity, and am really curious if they do so. We hear so much about the 4 jets he owns, the multi million dollar yacht, his ownership of the Villages banks, local newspaper, a television channel and an AM radio station. His realty company controls 60 percent of the re-sale market in the Villages. He even owns the utility company. And before someone jumps in and says he deserves it all, he's such a wonderful businessman, don't bother. I agree - he knows his financial P's and Q's. That's not what this post is about. But why do we hear nothing about charitable contributions? The guy is supposedly worth $2.5 billion. If we Google other billionaires we see plenty of charity donations - look at Gates, Buffet. Bloomberg, Ted Turner, and others. But I can't come up with a single charitable donation from the Morses.

Mickey have a big old glass of Village Ice Cold Kool Aid while out there too, maybe two glasses or the whole pitcher, it sure made me feel a lot better!

I still goes back to my original question to your original post "what business is it of yours"??? Why should the Morse family have to justify themselves to you or anyone else - IT IS NONE OF OUR BUISNESS.

I just wondered if there is a site that lists charitable contributions. Even one that list contributions made by someone over a certain income. If there is one, I couldn't find it. It probably doesn't exist because giving is a personal thing.

Unless your income taxes become a matter of public record, or you or someone else leaks your charitable contributions to the press, I can't imagine why there would be articles written about what a private person gives to charities.

Why would someone write a news article just for the sake of saying how much or how little a private person donates to charities? That would look pretty petty and snide and invasive.

I don't think it is strange that his donations or lack of donations wouldn't come up in Internet searches. He is apparently a very private person.

After I came to visit TV the first time, my friends asked me what I liked most. I said that everyone was so happy and friendly.
I hope none of my friends read this forum because there is a lot of bitterness and vitriol here. Seems like people should just not open a thread if they know they don't like the subject.

I can think of many reasons for not going public with charitable contributions. I can not think of many reasons to go public. There are only two people who know to whom and how much I give to charities and that's me and the IRS.

I have a question for those who think certain others should make their charitable contributions public. Will you make your charitable contributions public?

I think we have hit a new low in demonizing, vilifying, trashing, etc.