Gates, Buffett Goad Friends to Give



Bill Gates

It’s nice to know that in this season of giving, billionaires are growing big hearts.



Warren Buffett

  Warren Buffet and Bill Gates have called on their very rich friends to donate half of their fortunes during their lifetimes, or after they die.

(Guess I must've miss their call that day, and my answering machine choked on the message).

But it's gratifying to learn that people are driven to wipe out diseases, overcome starvation, provide clean water, startup money for small businesses, and promote education.  As for Buffett and Gates, this flood of money stems from a series of dinners they held asking others like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, investor Ron Perelman, and David Rockefeller to commit to a Giving Pledge.

The pledge asks for half their assets.
While several attendees have signed it, many others have already committed their fortunes to charitable causes.

This is an incredible feat.

The basic goal is not only to give but that society will come to expect that the very wealthy will donate much of their money to the world while also creating a peer group that can offer advice on philanthropy.

“It’s really to help people get started on their own in whatever it is they want to do,” said Melinda Gates. “One of the most important things about philanthropy is that people do what they are passionate about.  They won’t do it otherwise.”

Marc Benioff, founder of Salesforce.com, a software company, has donated $100 million to a children’s hospital in San Francisco.  David Rockefeller, George Soros, and Gerry Lenfest are also among those who signed the pledge.



David Rockefeller

Rockefeller pledged to give away $1 billion at his death to charitable causes.
In 2009, Mayor Bloomberg gave $254 million to nearly 1,400 nonprofit organizations.

“I am a big believer,” he said, “in giving it all away and have always said that the best financial planning ends with bouncing the check to the undertaker.”

Michael Bloomberg

Some are giving away 70% of their wealth, a few even more.  

Because of the recession, this year marks the second year in a row that philanthropy experienced its deepest decline ever recorded, so yeah for the big guys for coming through.


We need that kind of thinking. The West can't afford to allow the third world to wither and die.  And they won't go quietly.  We must make sure they not only survive but thrive. 
Due to the recession, the need in our country is also overwhelming and even hunger is becoming a desperate situation for thousands, who never considered it a problem before.

So maybe we can all learn a little from the guys who know how to make the most.  Though times are leaner, we can look around and squeeze out just a little bit more.