Thirty US billionaires pledge to give away half their fortunes to charity

The world of philanthropy got a huge financial boost today as more than 30 American billionaires pledged to give away at least half of their fortunes to charitable causes, signing up to a campaign launched by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

I would be interested to know what ATSer's thought about this. I do have my own opinion, but fear it will be shot down, so for now I'll just be the messenger You can shoot me later

www.guardian.co.uk...

edit to add source, sorry



[edit on 4-8-2010 by woodwardjnr]

If it is true - it is great step. Shame that they (at least according to article) do not invest some of it into making more job positions (teach a man to fish instead of giving him a fish kind of thing) in US but it is also ok.
Cynical part of me thinks that it is going to be connected to taxes reduction so it is far from half eventually, but government is better in wasting money then any charity organization so over all it is positive development.

To me it just seems these people should be giving back to the society (The US) which enabled them to flourish and become the billionaires they are today. Not just the education, but the people who build the roads, the nurses who work in the hospitals the people that help the nation run and survive.

Maybe I'm just being cynical and i should applaud these actions. I'm sure the money will improve the lives of many

That's the way it should work, donations should come from those that wish to give. They should not be forced to fork it over just because Obama says you must.

...but something tells me it's going through the government first before it makes it to any intended charity.

Btw, they are doing it for tax puroses.

Originally posted by Alxandro
That's the way it should work, donations should come from those that wish to give. They should not be forced to fork it over just because Obama says you must.

...but something tells me it's going through the government first before it makes it to any intended charity.

Btw, they are doing it for tax puroses.

Then surely that tax would be better spent on improving Americas economy

reply to post by woodwardjnr


Please excuse my ignorance, but what would happen to everyone's money if the dollar collapses?

I hope they did their research and gave to worthwhile and useful charities rather than those "throw money at it and allow the root cause to continue" type charities who run things the government way.

Nothing worse than finding out this was some useless gesture for PR.

Most wealthy folk would rather murder a common man before giving up a single penny if that penny would fail to profit them.

They KNOW the system, they know BUSINESS. They WILL get it back!!

EVERYONE needs to know that giving to charity is one step above flushing it down the drain in all reality.

With all these people LOSING their HOMES in this country, why dont they provide a BAIL out to the common man here by setting up a team to search out the INNOCENT VICTIMS of this economy who are LOSING their HOMES to the BANKS because of GREEDY wealthy BUSINESSMAN that TANKED this economy in the FIRST PLACE for another PENNY of PROFIT!!

As the OP missed offering a source, I had a look and found this from the UK's Guardian media outlet...

In an unprecedented mass commitment, top figures including New York's mayor Michael Bloomberg, the hotel heir Barron Hilton, CNN media mogul Ted Turner, and the Star Wars director George Lucas lent their names to the "giving pledge", an initiative founded last month to encourage America's richest families to commit money to "society's most pressing problems".

The pledge is not a legally binding contract but is described as a moral commitment. Buffett, the legendary Nebraska-based financier known as the "sage of Omaha", welcomed the influx of support: "At its core, the giving pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used. We're delighted that so many people are doing that."

He added that many of those involved were committing sums far greater than the 50% minimum. Buffett himself is handing the vast bulk of his $47bn fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is largely orientated towards tackling disease in developing countries.

Forty US billionaires pledge to give away half their fortunes to charity

Yeah, it's an obvious reaction to laugh at these guys and question their motives, tax status and the epic state of richness they'll still live in after donating half of their fortunes. Obvious, but maybe this level of charitable generosity will have a big impact on things that really matter?

It isn't new...philanthropy has been the the crowning moment of rich folk for centuries. Whatever their motives...as long as the money makes a significant impact on the general quality of life on Earth (for all life on Earth), it's worth raising a glass and appreciating the results.

reply to post by woodwardjnr




yah, except that bill and warren have donated money to foundation focused towards depopulation