Project Rich Person Makes Him/Herself Look Good On T.V. (The Secret Millionaire)

Member Name: eyedo6789

Product:	The Secret Millionaire
Date:	25/03/09 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: The Charities And The Community Do Gain From It

Disadvantages: Are The Millionaires Completely Genuine In Their Motives?

This is a Channel 4 television programme that runs in a series of 1 hour individual episodes.

On each one a wealthy person (man or woman) goes "undercover" into a deprived area and works in the voluntary sector getting to know about how various charities or organisations help the underprivileged in the community.

Some of the charitable organisations are not exclusively helping the underprivileged but serve to improve the infrastructure and/or social fabric of the community by setting up boxing clubs, dance schools or adventure playgrounds etc. that anyone from the community can use.

The millionaire on his/her travels around the community and various charities also usually meets an individual, family or couple who are struggling in some way and eventually surprises them with some cash to either help them along or just to treat them.

As part of the experience the millionaire has to live in a beaten up pokey little flat surviving on little more than beans on toast. This is in contrast to the mansions that they usually live in. However, they do have the comfort of a camera crew following them everywhere and are safe in the knowledge that their immense wealth has the ability to magic them away back to their swimming pool, tennis court and champagne and caviar lifestyle at any moment.

Occasionally the "Secret Millionaire" is revisiting the impoverished place where he/she grew up as a child but often it is an area of the country that they have no association with whatsoever.

The central thrust of the programme is that, according to the millionaire themselves, that they have "lost touch with their roots", "lost touch with the reality of what is really going on in the world outside of their glittering business empire", "need to experience what the poor go through to re-align their soul and to take take stock of their own lives".

Frankly I think this is all nonsense in most of the episodes I have seen. My impression is that for most of them they are so filthy rich that they probably already give a small percentage of their wealth away to charity each year and they have just seen this as an opportunity to appear on television, gain "15 minutes of fame" and in their own minds promote themselves from unknown faceless business people with big bank balances into people's heroes or heroines.

I'm sorry but it just doesn't wash with me most of the time. I have seen about 20 episodes and I can only remember 3 where the millionaire was visiting the place where they grew up and where they came across as being 100% genuine in putting their heart and soul into the projects that they were supporting as well as their cash.

I have to give credit for the total amount across various charities that each millionaire generally donates to worthy causes. It ranges from £75,000 up to £250,000.

The money is dished out at the end of the millionaire's voluntary stint of work with the charities. This is the money shot, quite literally, of the programme and produces varying amounts of thankfulness and incredulity from the recipients of the cash.

The programme also raises the issue of why the local authority and central government is not adequately funding these projects when the coverage on the television programme clearly demonstrates how important and worthwhile the projects are.

A problem I feel with the show is that it has been on for a long while now and I think that it has made many charities suspicious that when a film crew turns up saying that they want to film the experiences of a volunteer that they become quickly suspicious that really it is a "Secret Millionaire" who is the volunteer. In the last one that I watched it was very apparent that some of the charities were immediately suspicious.

I like this programme from an entertainment and social issues enlightenment point of view but am dubious about the real motives of many of the millionaires.

Summary: Watch It And See What You Think