Earlier this week, Sean Parker, the billionaire known for co-founding Napster and serving as Facebook FB +0.72%’s first president, announced that he was donating $250 million –10% of his estimated net worth – to create a new institute to catalyze the development of cancer treatments that harness the immune system.
He got laudatory wall-to-wall press coverage from national papers and TV networks, but, also, more than a bit of skepticism and shade. Noting that Parker was throwing a gala in L.A. that would be emceed by Tom Hanks and would feature performances by John Legend and Lady Gaga, the New York Times NYT +0.08% snarked: “Presumably, the cancer researchers will also be there.”
