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Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (left) and billionaire investor Warren Buffett during the 2007 Berkshire Hathaway meeting in Omaha, Neb. (Nati Harnik/AP)
Thirty-eight US billionaires have pledged at least 50% of their wealth to charity through a campaign started by investor Warren Buffett and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
They include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, CNN founder Ted Turner and entertainment executive Barry Diller.
"The Giving Pledge" lists all the families and individuals who have committed to the project.
The site says the pledge is a "moral commitment" not a "legal contract".
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The campaign was started in June to convince US billionaires to give away at least half of their fortunes either during their lifetimes or after their deaths.
"We've really just started but already we've had a terrific response," Mr Buffett said in a statement.
He added: "The Giving Pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used."
Those who pledge their money to "philanthropic causes and charitable organisations" must publicly state their intention through a letter of explanation.
'Improving education'
Other billionaires who have pledged large sums of their money include film producer George Lucas, philanthropist David Rockefeller and oil investor T Boone Pickens. ...
via BBC News - US billionaires pledge 50% of their wealth to charity.
Go Bill.
1 comment:
Yeah, that's great that "US billionaires pledge 50% of their wealth to charity," but where will their money go? Is really to help those in need? Is it really "charity"? I wonder.
Gates is supporting humongous geoengineering projects that in turn support those companies with stakes in the business of turning the climate around. These projects haven't been endorsed or really been studied by the general scientific community. But, off they go thinking about industrial interests before all else. There are all sorts of problems when dealing with ecological issues, problems that sprout up where they're least expected - the very nature of the intertwined relationships within massive ecological biosystems.
Gates is also supporting what is described as the second "green revolution" in Africa, which also supports all those pesticide and fertilizer companies that come along with that project. There are far more sustainable and ecologically sound methods of dealing with poverty and hunger in Africa. However, those projects are not big business friendly and thus not looked upon favorably ... and thus not funded.
As for "improving education"? Oh, sure money for business and pre-business courses, money for technological oriented courses and their underlying sciences and the like. I seriously doubt they'll fund educational programs that offer alternatives to environmental exploitation induced by capitalist ventures. Will they fund courses to study, understand and solve the ever increasing disparity in wealth and power in the U.S.? Will they offer money for courses and programs to reduce disparity to at least the pre-Reagan era? I don't think so. Yet, it is this disparity, according too many studies already in the medical and social science literature, that is causing a degradation of Americans' health and well-being.
Oh, sure, billionaires pledging part of their wealth to charity is great, but their funding only supports superficial solutions at best.
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