Work-from-home, he says, is a seriously lame idea. Employees lobbying for more money earn instead his disdain.

“Distinguish yourself,” is his credo. “Don’t be part of the herd.” Work hard. Take on any job. Clean toilets. Wait tables. It’ll change your life. Don’t be a snowflake. 

Vaughn Goettler, with his wife Lauren, is an entrepreneur. He’s rich. He ran for mayor and lost. He’ll run again.

He’s pragmatic, driven, a tad rumpled, safely retired but far from finished. He has fine real estate, toys and ambition.

He’d be just another insufferable, congenial, gilded multi-millionaire if not for one thing. Generosity. They give money away. Gobs of it — probably Niagara-on-the-Lake’s biggest philanthropists.

You may have read about it. “The Goettlers support the Museum expansion.” “Goettlers fund Yellow Door Theatre.” “Goettler donation fuels Niagara Symphony.” And the Goettlers, famously, handed over a million bucks to save a wild patch of NOTL known as The Wilderness.

Where did the money come from?

Business and ambition. He left a corporate job two decades ago, bought into the HVAC business. Sold his holdings four years later. Went into anaesthetics. “That was strange.”

In 2014 he and new wife Lauren bought back into HVAC. Did private equity deals. Blew the doors off estimates. Sold to an outfit from San Francisco a few years ago. A hundred employees turned into 1,500. He’s still on the board, owns a hunk of shares. More wealth will be coming.

Why give it away?

“If you’re fortunate enough to accumulate wealth, you have choices. You can do nothing. You can invest it to get more. You can sit on it. Or you can try to do things that will make a difference.”

The symphony. Acting. The arts. Inspiring youth. The Wilderness — trying to protect native heritage and history.

“If that land turns into townhouses, for example, we’ve lost it forever. This gives me a great sense of gratitude and Lauren is the driver of it all.”

So, now what?

“I don’t want to work 70 hours a week any more. I could see myself doing public service, though. If I were to become mayor it would be a significant undertaking on my part — you have to make changes you want to see. But this interests me, yeah.”

The Goettlers have a foundation that dishes out money. And, yes, there are tax benefits for good deeds. The breaks are not restricted to the one percenters among us, however. The system actually rewards those who share.

There are tax credits of up to 33 per cent federally (high-income-earners get the biggest) plus another 17 per cent from the province. You can split donations between spouses for the greatest advantage. You can claim donations from past years to help reduce a higher income now.

And you can donate securities — like stocks — without being taxed on the capital gain (but which yields a higher tax credit). Just ensure the charity you support qualifies — something the CRA site will tell you.

Of course, to donate you need to make more than you spend or save. Most Canadians don’t. Donations have tanked since COVID, as families struggle with the crazy price of groceries and real estate. More and more, society relegates good deeds to governments while the masses vex about the cost of rent, mortgages, tats and children.

We also love ragging on rich people. Especially when older, white and male. There’s no doubt a wealth divide exists in Canada, or that it yawns a little wider every day.

Surveys show half the population would be pooched if they missed a single paycheque. They also say most want to work from home and walk the dog. 

Wealth comes from ambition. Wow. Who knew?