💰 A Billionaire Business Disguised as Good Intentions
Every day, on television, on social media, on the street, someone asks you for money. For hungry children. For cancer research. For earthquake victims. For war refugees. Heartbreaking images, moving music, toll-free numbers. And you, moved by compassion, donate. But have you ever wondered where that money really goes?
The answer is uncomfortable: solidarity is a business. A billionaire business, run by organizations that are part of the same global oligarchy that is impoverishing you.
🏢 The UN: The Oligarchy Club
The United Nations is not a neutral institution serving humanity. It is a club of the powerful. The Security Council is composed of 5 permanent members with veto power — the same powers that produce and sell most of the world's weapons. The same ones that finance wars and then send humanitarian aid. The same ones that impose sanctions starving civilian populations and then launch solidarity appeals.
UN agencies — UNHCR, UNICEF, WHO, World Food Programme — are largely financed by governments and multinationals. They are not independent. They are geopolitical tools disguised as humanitarian organizations.
♾️ The Real Business: Never Solving the Problem
Many NGOs do not want to solve problems. They want to manage them forever. If world hunger ended, they would close. If cancer were defeated, they would close. If peace broke out, they would close. They have a structural economic interest in maintaining the status quo. They do not seek the cure. They seek chronicity.
Verifiable data from: Form 990 – In the USA, NGOs are required to declare top executives' salaries. They are public. Just search "NGO name + Form 990 + CEO salary" - Social reports – In Italy, many NGOs publish reports showing personnel costs (but top executive compensation is often not transparent) - Charity Navigator / GuideStar – Sites that evaluate NGO transparency and publish financial data
🇮🇹 Telethon: The Fundraising Machine
Annual collection: ~60 million euros. To research: ~42-45 million (70-75%). Structure and personnel costs: ~12-15 million (20-25%).
| Name | Role | Annual salary | Other positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luca di Montezemolo | President | Honorary position | Former President of Fiat, Ferrari, Confindustria. Founder of Italia Futura, ties to Forza Italia and Azione |
| Francesca Pasinelli | General Director | ~200.000-250.000 € | Member of scientific committees and foundations |
| Andrea Ballabio | TIGEM Director | ~180.000-220.000 € | University professor, consultant for biotech companies |
After 35 years and billions collected, rare genetic diseases are still "rare" and "incurable". The television marathon on RAI is free advertising paid by the license fee.
🎗️ AIRC – Italian Association for Cancer Research
Annual collection: ~140-150 million euros. To research: ~75-80%. Structure costs: ~30-35 million (20-25%).
| Name | Role | Annual salary | Other positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Sironi | President | Honorary position | President of Generali, Bocconi academic, ties to Monti/Draghi/Calenda area |
| Niccolò Contucci | General Director | ~200.000-250.000 € | Former executive roles in other NGOs and foundations |
| Federico Caligaris Cappio | Scientific Director | ~180.000-220.000 € | University professor |
🧬 Umberto Veronesi Foundation
| Name | Role | Annual salary | Other positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paolo Veronesi | President | ~150.000-180.000 € | Son of Umberto Veronesi, board member of biomedical companies |
🇮🇹 Other Italian NGOs
| Name | Organization | Annual salary | Connections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marco Impagliazzo | Community of Sant'Egidio | ~180.000-200.000 € | Board of Roma Tre University, Vatican diplomacy, PD ties |
| Marco De Ponte | ActionAid Italia | ~130.000-150.000 € | National Council for Development Cooperation, former UNDP |
| Paolo Pezzati | Oxfam Italia | ~100.000-120.000 € | Former ARCI, Peace Table |
| Rossella Miccio | Emergency | ~120.000-150.000 € | Institutional tables MAECI and UN |
| Stefano Di Carlo | Doctors Without Borders Italy | ~120.000-150.000 € | Former executive of other NGOs and foundations |
👶 Save the Children: Children as Business
Save the Children is one of the largest and most recognizable NGOs in the world. Founded in 1919, it operates in over 100 countries. It has been present in Italy since 1998. Its slogan is "We save children". But how much actually reaches the children?
Italy
Annual fundraising in Italy: about 80-90 million euros (2022-2023 data). Of this, about 20-25% is retained for structure costs, personnel, communication and fundraising. Only 75-80% reaches programs.
| Name | Role | Annual salary | Other positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniela Fatarella | General Director Save the Children Italy | ~150.000-180.000 € | Former UNICEF, IOM. Member of the MIUR Technical-Scientific Committee for global citizenship education. Sits at coordination tables with government entities. |
| Claudio Tesauro | President Save the Children Italy | Honorary position | Lawyer, son of Giorgio Tesauro (former President of the Constitutional Court), ties to Roman academic and legal circles. |
| Other executives | Management staff (6-8 people) | ~100.000-150.000 € | Various positions in foundations, public entities and committees |
International
| Name | Role | Annual salary |
|---|---|---|
| Janti Soeripto | CEO Save the Children International | ~500.000 $ |
| Inger Ashing | CEO Save the Children International (previous) | ~400.000 $ |
What they don't tell you
- 80-90 million collected in Italy every year. Of this, about 16-22 million goes to structure costs: salaries, offices, advertising campaigns, telemarketing.
- Telemarketing is aggressive. Save the Children is known for persistent calls to donors, with operators paid to extract increasing donations. Part of the money you donate pays the people who call you to ask for more money.
- Famous testimonials. Actors, singers, influencers lend their faces for free (or almost). But the advertising campaigns that use them cost millions.
- Children in commercials. Images of suffering children are designed to elicit maximum compassion. But those children do not directly receive your money. Funds pass through a chain of intermediaries and "projects" that absorb a significant percentage before reaching their destination.
- Political ties. Director Fatarella sits on ministerial committees. Save the Children participates in institutional tables with the Italian government. It is not an independent organization: it is part of the system.
- The business model. Like all large NGOs, Save the Children does not want to "save all children" and close. It wants to continue "saving children" forever. Because if all children were saved, they would close.
🎭 The Vicious Circle of Research
- You donate thinking you are helping research
- The NGO retains 20-40% for structure costs
- Executives pay themselves golden salaries
- Research produces patents that end up with pharmaceutical multinationals
- Multinationals sell drugs at very high prices
- The NGO asks you for more money to "continue research"
- The disease is not defeated. Because if it were defeated, they would close.
🌍 Golden Salaries Worldwide
| Name | Organization | Annual salary |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Gallagher | former CEO United Way Worldwide | ~1.500.000 $ |
| Gail McGovern | CEO American Red Cross | ~700.000 $ |
| Catherine Russell | UNICEF Director | ~500.000 $ |
| Janti Soeripto | CEO Save the Children | ~500.000 $ |
| Andrew Morley | CEO World Vision | ~450.000 $ |
| Michelle Nunn | CEO CARE USA | ~450.000 $ |
| Abby Maxman | CEO Oxfam America | ~300.000 $ |
| Filippo Grandi | UNHCR High Commissioner | ~250.000 $ |
🇺🇦 The Ukraine Case: The Perfect Example
After the Russian invasion of 2022, billions of euros were collected worldwide. But how much actually reached those in need? Funds pass through a chain of intermediaries: UN → international NGOs → local "operational partners". At each step, someone retains a percentage.
And post-conflict reconstruction? That's the real business. Billion-dollar contracts to rebuild what weapons destroyed. Weapons sold by the same countries that then send aid. First they destroy, then they rebuild, and they profit from both steps.
🔄 Recycled Politicians in NGOs
| Name | Former political role | NGO/Think Tank | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Francesco Rocca | CRI President → Lazio Region President | Italian Red Cross | Brothers of Italy |
| Emma Bonino | Foreign Minister, EU Commissioner | No Peace Without Justice | +Europa / Radicals |
| Federica Mogherini | Foreign Minister, EU High Representative | College of Europe | Democratic Party |
| Andrea Riccardi | Cooperation Minister (Monti Government) | Community of Sant'Egidio | Civic Choice |
| Marta Dassù | Deputy Foreign Minister (Monti Government) | ECFR, Aspen Institute | Centrist area |
| Giulio Terzi | Foreign Minister (Monti Government) | International foundations | Brothers of Italy |
| Catherine Russell | Jill Biden's Chief of Staff | UNICEF | US Democratic Party |
💼 The Accumulation of Positions
Many NGO executives and recycled politicians accumulate multiple positions simultaneously: the main position + 2-4 boards of foundations or companies + paid conferences + consulting. A well-placed executive can easily exceed 300,000-500,000 € per year. In international cases, it reaches over 1 million dollars.
While these gentlemen accumulate seats and salaries, the average donor who gives 10 euros a month believes they are "helping children". They are not helping any child. They are paying a manager's salary.
✅ The Difference with the Community of Sovereigns
| Item | Current system (NGOs) | Community of Sovereigns |
|---|---|---|
| Research | Paid by citizens, profits to private entities | Public, open patents |
| Medicines | Private patents, monopoly prices | Free, public pharmaceutical sector |
| Executive salaries | Up to $1,500,000 | Basic income: 5,000 Sovereigns/month for everyone |
| Fundraising | Serves to maintain the organization | Not needed: the Community funds research with sovereign money |
| Goal | Manage the problem forever | Eliminate the problem |
| Transparency | Opaque, inaccessible budgets | Digital currency: every transaction tracked and public |
We do not ask for donations to "help the poor". WE ELIMINATE THE CAUSES OF POVERTY FOREVER. We do not ask for charity for research. We create a system where research is public and free. Our funding model is transparent by design: every contribution is tracked, every expense is public. We do not have executives with golden salaries. We have citizens building together a world where NGOs are no longer needed.