Whether you loved him or hated him, he had a tremendous impact on the second half of the 20th century.
Forgetting the centerfold stuff, he spent a great deal of money to support the ACLU, pro-choice organizations, and several non-profit legal organizations that challenged established religion and bigotry. He regularly devoted 10 pages to straight civil liberties reporting.
He also funded the preservation of silent films, notably Lon Chaney's, and gave a home to MAD magazine's best and earliest cartoonists.
His appeal lay not in being Mr. Playboy, but in being a dorky, everyman Clark Kent. The rope, pipe and yachting cap were a costumed, aspirational super-y-er side; today we'd call it role play.
I think we forget that the emphasis in his best "Playboy" -- was on play.