Elon Musk has a new ally in his skepticism of traditional philanthropy: Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. After Armstrong argued that charitable foundations often drift from their founders' intentions and become "captured by ideology," Musk offered a simple two-word endorsement on X: "He's right."

Armstrong made the comments during an interview with Katie Miller, where he didn't hold back. "A lot of charities and philanthropies are actually net negative for the world and they get captured," he said. "It's remarkably hard to find a foundation that has not gotten captured by ideology."

He pointed to criminal justice reform as an example of well-intentioned efforts backfiring, claiming some programs "just increased crime"—though he didn't provide data to back that up in the clip.

So what does Armstrong do instead? He uses a donor-advised fund, directing money toward projects that are, in his words, "helping civilization advance."

Donor-advised funds have become a big deal in American philanthropy. Unlike a private foundation, a donor-advised fund puts donated assets under the legal control of a sponsoring nonprofit, but donors get to recommend how the money is invested and distributed. According to the IRS, that's the key difference. And the numbers show just how popular they've become: National Philanthropic Trust, citing the 2025 Annual DAF Report, says donor-advised funds held $326.5 billion in assets at the end of 2024 and distributed $64.9 billion to charities that year.

Armstrong isn't against giving altogether. He's a member of the Giving Pledge, where billionaires promise to donate most of their wealth. In his pledge letter, he wrote: "Whether it's through improving education, creating a more level playing field, or increasing economic freedom, I'm interested in helping more people see their ideas come to fruition in the world."

Still, his comments reflect a deep distrust of permanent institutions. He singled out the Ford Foundation, suggesting founder Henry Ford "would be turning over in his grave if he knew what they were up to."

Musk shares that concern. He recently responded "Sadly, yes" to criticism that MacKenzie Scott's more than $26 billion in giving was "making the world worse."

But Musk isn't just talking—he's put his money where his mouth is. He gave roughly $5.74 billion in Tesla shares to the Musk Foundation in 2021, another $1.95 billion in 2022, and about $108 million to unnamed charities in 2024. He's also pledged that any proceeds from his OpenAI lawsuit will go to charity.

So while both Musk and Armstrong are skeptical of how traditional philanthropy operates, they're still very much in the giving game—just on their own terms.