Showbiz411

Madonna– rich, rich, rich–is not very charitable at this point. Her new tax filing for her Ray of Light Foundation paints an interesting picture about the currently on tour artist and what she does with her money. In 2011, Madonna only gave away $770,000– and nearly all to it went to the cultish Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles. Despite all the scandals, lawsuits, and possible grand jury, Madonna simply gave Karen Berg’s sketchy, possibly harmful group the same amount she did last year.

And that’s just about it. Madonna also gave $15,000 to the TJ Martell Foundation, and $5000 to the Jewish Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Los Angeles. There was nothing for the arts, AIDS or cancer research, or any regular religious institutions. Consider that celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O’Donnell give away millions, support schools,–oh wait–

Madonna was supposed to build a leadership academy in Malawi, Africa. But that’s over and the charity involved– a Kabbalah front called Raising Malawi–is gone with it. So much for Madonna and Africa.

Madonna did pay one salary, to Philippe van den Bossche: $106,986. That was an increase of $35,000 from the prior year. And then Madonna fired van den Bossche, who took the fall in the collapse of Raising Malawi.

And while Madonna gave away $770,000 in 2011, she lists the total assets of Ray of Light Foundation at a whopping $9.3 million. Forbes says she’s worth $650 million.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.