When was the last time you helped someone without them knowing it was you?
Maybe you made an anonymous donation to a charity or returned a lost item without leaving your name. If something like that comes to mind, you might remember the small buzz of satisfaction you felt when you did it.
That feeling suggests there’s a deeper, more lasting fulfillment in helping others anonymously compared to the immediate gratification of being recognized for it.
Of course, it’s not always possible to do a good deed in secret, especially when time is a factor. But if the goal of helping others turns into a way to gain recognition, it can overshadow the real purpose—making a difference. The Stoics believed this was at the core of what it means to be human:
A human being is formed by nature to benefit others, and, when he has performed some benevolent action or accomplished anything else that contributes to the common good, he has done what he was constituted for, and has what is properly his.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 9.42
But does the reason behind a good deed really matter?
Most of the time, maybe not—so long as it’s not for a harmful or illegal purpose. What’s important is that people in need are receiving help. Problems arise, though, when charity becomes performative. There’s even a term for it: “tainted altruism.”
When Jay-Z was working on Magna Carta Holy Grail, he reflected on his own motivations for giving. Was he doing it to feel good about himself? Was the money he donated being used responsibly? Being wealthy and well-known made it difficult to give without added scrutiny.
One way to avoid this dilemma is to give anonymously—something he may already do. He could even start his own version of the Pineapple Fund, an anonymous initiative that gave away $55 million to various charities in 2017. With a net worth of $810 million, Jay-Z could certainly make an impact at that level.
On its website, the Pineapple Fund explained its decision to remain anonymous:
Why are you remaining anonymous?
Publicity has never been the point of this fund.
I wonder if its founder still feels that quiet satisfaction today.
Whether or not Jay-Z has donated anonymously himself, he has been inspired by the idea. In his song Nickels and Dimes, he raps:
The purest form of giving is anonymous to anonymous
We gon’ make it there, I promise this.
He later explained, “The person on the receiving end doesn’t have to feel… some kind of obligation to the giver, and the person giving isn’t doing it with an ulterior motive.”
That may have been the real reason behind the Pineapple Fund. The founder, having made more money than they could ever spend through Bitcoin, wanted to help others without seeking attention. While the donations made headlines, the lack of a public identity meant there was no fame attached, and the recipients didn’t feel indebted to anyone.
A horse at the end of the race… A dog when the hunt is over… A bee with its honey stored… And a human being after helping others. They don’t make a fuss about it. They just go on to something else, as the vine looks forward to bearing fruit again in season.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.6
Most of us can’t afford to donate millions, but there are countless other ways to help. Consider the anonymous couple who secretly pay for strangers’ meals, or the person who covers the cost of a vending machine snack. Even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference.
And it doesn’t have to involve money. Simply showing empathy can turn someone’s bad day around and leave a lasting impact. I hope to remind myself as often as possible to ask, What would I want someone else to do if I were in their shoes?
Why not try it out today? Give yourself a buzz.
