الأربعاء، 4 أغسطس 2010

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Billionaires are coming forward to offer half of their wealth in an act of generosity; Creative Commons License photo credit: ZeroOne"]Fifty Billion Dollars[/caption]

There were many noted billionaires who came together recently and formally pledged to give away half their personal wealth, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

This philanthropic endeavor was started by the Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the old business sage, Warren Buffet. Both of these men are in the top three of the wealthiest men alive, and between them have a net worth of at least $100 billion.

Among the billionaires who pledged to give away their money - which must includes equities, Gold, and property - were CNN founder Ted Turner, filmmaker George Lucas,  New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who made his fortune in business and is estimated to be worth some $20 billion, Hilton hotel owner Baron Hilton, and Larry Ellison, CEO and Founder of Oracle.

The pledge is not legally binding on these noble philanthropists, but it is said to be a moral commitment on their part. This philanthropic endeavor underscores how these men and women of worth feel about the poor and the attributes of poverty in their midst... and taking the noble initiatives to address them.

No one knows how the respective heirs of these men and women feel about their largesse to the cause of the poor, but we commend them. It must be noted that this endeavor was not forced upon these men, as is the current position some are taking, but they volunteered their wealth to the service of the poor.

I have been excoriated for suggesting that rock stars do the same in a past blog. I wasn’t saying then that Bruce Springsteen didn’t give to charity, I was saying that his giving should be on a per capita basis like that of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. And lest you think that I am biased in picking on Springsteen, let me also include my favorite artist Prince, if he is worth in the hundred of millions.

I hope this giving will be emulated outside of these initial thirty billionaires and even among those who have a little to give because no one knows who will the poor in the near future.
04 Aug 2010

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