The case for giving â why itâs time the wealthy did the right thing Just because you donât want to donate money to charity doesnât mean that society canât require you to give back, says the founder of AirTree Ventures. If you have been successful in life it is your obligation, not your choice, to give back â and venture capitalist Daniel Petre says many wealthy Australians have been shirking that responsibility. Ryan Stuart Save Share Before moving to the United States in 1990 to work as a vice-president of a product group at Microsoft, I had not spent any time thinking about the concept of philanthropy. My wife, Carolyn, and I had made annual small donations to a range of well-known charities but I had never given much thought to the concept of the very wealthy allocating serious money to address issues in society.