fauxlanthropist

F4A1U1X8L1A1N1T1H4R1O1P3I1S1T1

noun

A wealthy person who engages in charity for self-interested reasons.

Scrabble 30

Meanings

nounfauxlanthropist (plural fauxlanthropists)

plural fauxlanthropists

  1. derogatoryinformalA wealthy person who engages in charity for self-interested reasons.

    Even a man of Stanford's preposterous bluster would struggle to explain how enabling tax dodging has anything to do with giving a toss about other people. He and his ilk are fauxlanthropists. If governments are brave enough, the real philanthropy should begin now.

    2009 February 21, Marina Hyde, “Thanks for the philanthropy, billionaires. Now pay your tax”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2023
    2 more examples

    Young kids get sick a lot and it is often really sad. Fauxlanthropists are not immune to that pathos. From visiting those tormented tots in the hospital wing named after their grandfathers to throwing some sort of wonderful wheelchair prom, there are plenty of fun and relatively hands-off ways to help.

    2010, Brian Griffin, The Trustafarian Handbook: A Field Guide to the Neo-Hippie Lifestyle - Funded by Mom and Dad, page 51

    Let's escalate (fecal) matters: Apart from lording over (social) media, supply chains, the cloud and governments, or openly maiming and murdering the Poor, the hyper-mobile 'Fauxlanthropists' are colonising the low earth orbit, mars, moon and more, although there's already 'no more space'.

    2024, Kai Syng Tan, Neuro-Futurism and Re-Imagining Leadership: An A-Z Towards Collective Liberation, page 51

Origin

  1. Latinfallō
  2. Latinfalsus
  3. Old Frenchfals
  4. Middle Frenchfaulx
  5. Frenchfaux
  6. Englishfaux
  7. Englishphilanthropist
  8. Englishfauxlanthropist

Blend of faux + philanthropist.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

fauxlanthropist. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fauxlanthropist

MLA

“fauxlanthropist.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fauxlanthropist. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fauxlanthropist,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fauxlanthropist.

Source: fauxlanthropist on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.