Grand Rapids' Billionaire Philanthropy Shows El-Sayed's Anti-Billionaire Stance Would Harm Michigan
Source: "Michigan Senate race puts Grand Rapids billionaire philanthropy in focus | Fox News." October 16, 2026. www.foxnews.com
The Gist
The author visited Grand Rapids and found that locals credit rich philanthropic families for the city's success. He argues this shows that El-Sayed's push to get rid of billionaires would hurt Michigan, and that government should partner with the wealthy instead of attacking them.
Conclusion
Abdul El-Sayed's call to eliminate billionaires would harm Michigan, and government should instead work with wealthy philanthropists rather than demonize them.
Premises
- Grand Rapids is a thriving mid-sized city with bustling streets, active businesses and ongoing construction.
- Local residents (a museum docent, a construction worker) credit a handful of billionaire philanthropic families (e.g., Van Andel, Meijer) with filling civic gaps and funding major institutions and projects.
- Billionaire philanthropy has historically benefited American cities (e.g., the Astors in New York, the Carnegies in Pittsburgh).
- Even Democratic voters in the area do not express the intense anger toward billionaires that El-Sayed and allies such as Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders voice.
- El-Sayed's vision would redirect money that philanthropists spend on civic projects to government, which discounts the economic power of a strong philanthropic community.
- Billionaires make their communities better and plant the civic seeds from which millionaires grow.
Assumptions
- Anecdotal comments from a few Grand Rapids locals are representative of broader public opinion and of the actual drivers of the city's success.
- Philanthropy by billionaires is more effective than equivalent government spending would be.
- Billionaires' civic contributions would not occur without the existence of billionaires, so eliminating billionaires would eliminate this benefit.
- El-Sayed's position means abolishing billionaires through policy and would simply replace philanthropy with government spending.
- The benefits of philanthropy outweigh the costs of extreme wealth concentration, including inequality and the political influence of the wealthy.
- Grand Rapids is a valid test case for Michigan or the nation as a whole.