HospitalConnect.com
First on yesterday's New York Times Most E-mailed List (or MEL, as dubbed by ETP) was an aptly-timed piece entitled "What Should a Billionaire Give - and What Should You?" The article, still holding steady after a drop to fifth place, is a treatise on the ethics of philanthropy and the importance of helping fellow human beings in a stratified world, written by Princeton bioethics professor Peter Singer. Timely and useful, true, but we couldn't help noticing the word "billionaire" conspicuously placed in the headline. As Seth Mnookin and Gawker pointed out in November, the Times has been devoting more than a few column inches to the trials and tribulations of the ultra-rich, notably, "In Web World, Rich Now Envy The Superrich," "A New Class War: The Haves Vs. The Have Mores" and "Very Rich Are Leaving the Merely Rich Behind." Each of these headlines shot straight to MEL, joined by similarly-themed lifestyle pieces like "Club Med for the Multimillionaire Set." Looks like billionaires are the new Shamu.
- Melissa Lafsky
