Polysemy -- "thing" is an overloaded term.

sort of. but everything humans do can be argued as a status move, so it's unwise to get super hung up on it. (me, i just marvel at the 1337 tax-evasion skillz. :-)

Let's do Sivers the favor of precision in our language: he engaged in rational tax avoidance for a good cause. When you say 'tax evasion', it generally means the steps taken were illegal.

Or at least focused on avoiding taxes for personal profit if not outright illegal.

I don't think that is what they mean by "things." Derek is signaling generosity by being generous.