40 billionaires pledge to give away half of wealth
 

Gates, Buffett lead campaign to persuade America's wealthiest to donate their fortunes

little over a year after Bill Gates and Warren Buffett began hatching a plan over dinner to persuade America's wealthiest people to give most of their fortunes to charity, more than three-dozen individuals and families have agreed to take part, campaign organizers announced Wednesday.

In addition to Buffett and Gates — America's two wealthiest individuals, with a combined net worth of $90 billion, according to Forbes — 38 other billionaires have signed The Giving Pledge. They include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, entertainment executive Barry Diller, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens, media mogul Ted Turner, David Rockefeller, film director George Lucas and investor Ronald Perelman.

"We're off to a terrific start," Buffett, co-founder and chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said in a conference call also attended by Bloomberg and San Francisco hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer and his wife Kat Taylor, founder of OneCalifornia Bank.

Buffett said he and Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, and Gates' wife Melinda made calls to fellow billionaires on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans — in many cases, people they had never met — to try to persuade them to join the giving pledge.

"We contacted between 70 and 80 people to get the 40. A few were unavailable. We don’t give up on them. Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future. We’ll keep on working," Buffett said.

Bloomberg, who made the bulk of his estimated $17.5 billion fortune from financial news and information services company Bloomberg L.P., said it didn't make sense to leave everything to his children and have them go through life as members of "the lucky sperm club."

"You don’t want to leave them so much money that it ruins their lives," Bloomberg said. "You want kids who can look back and say, 'Yeah my family helped me but I did something on my own.'
"
Added Steyer: "We need to support each other. I look at this as replanting your garden so that future generations will have a full bounty of crops."
The United States has roughly 400 billionaires — about 40 percent of the world's total — with a combined net worth of $1.2 trillion, according to Forbes. If they all took the pledge, that would amount to at least $600 billion for charity.

The 40 names that have pledged to date have a combined net worth surpassing $230 billion, according to Forbes. Several of them have said they plan to give away much more than 50 percent of their wealth. Buffett has promised to donate more than 99 percent of his wealth.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38556042/ns/us_news-giving/

Yeah.....we'll see where the money REALLY goes.

We have to provide food and shelter for the homeless, and oppose racial discrimination and promote civil rights, while also promoting equal rights for women. We have to encourage a return to traditional moral values. Most importantly, we have to promote general social concern and less materialism in young people.

**** that shit.


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This is a very un-ChiefsPlanet-like opinion.

Wtf bro?

Can they loan me fifty till pay day?

Don't forget 'legalize marijuana'.

Hippies love legalizing marijuana.

what they need is to just give it to M.C. Hammer.

If David Rockefeller is on that list, I am suspect to it's true mission. Not of fan of David Rockefeller, whom some consider to be the most powerful man in the world.

I wonder why they didn't just give it to the gubment? Probably because even Buffet knows the government would just piss it all away. A Charity is much more accountable for cash it receives.

By the way, these are the evil rich bastards who are greedily snatching up all the wealth in the world. I hate those guys...

I'd graciously accept 20 grand or so of their charity in hopes that it would ease any guilt they feel over having amassed such wealth by cheating on taxes or whatever they do. I am here to help, rich folks!

"charity"


That's a very, very open term.

I thought they already donated half their wealth to the Governments "Share the Wealth" plan??

I wonder if they pooled all their money together (not half, all), if they would even make a dent in the national deficit.

no, not even ****ing close.

I think we should divide the homeless in half, and feed one half to another. That would solve all kinds of problems.

It would make a dent. Their combined wealth was 1.2 trillion.

The national deficit is just above 13 or so. Not a lot but...a dent.

Marcus. How thought provoking.

Guess it's time for me to start a charity. Hrmm....maybe a Charity to help all the reeruns on ChiefsPlanet? What should I name it though?

small dent. not even 10% of the federal deficit. to me, that's not even ****ing close (when you're talking about that much money)

My conspiracy theorist side is in panic mode right now. Why would rich people give away their money unless they know shit's about to go tits up in a hurry?

So they have agreed to give their money away to less intelligent people.

Who will receive this money for free.



Honestly, I think what Gates is doing is ****ing awesome, but as soon as he's removed from teh picture, considering the money involved, this $3it goes south like Wal-Mart Post-Walton...

Chiefplanetardian Foundation.

A dent...isn't something huge.

I guess we just disagree on what a dent means.

Good for them. I have to laugh a little though when I read these comments every so often from one of these guys saying they don't believe in leaving everything to their kids. I'm guessing the kids will be cashing a gigantic check someday from these guys. "I didn't leave my kids a billion, just 25 million. Now they'll have to go work for themselves."

Guilt...

Pointless.

Me and Goat-****er would get all the money...

Well, if they died and hadn't done it the government would be getting most of it. So decide for yourself who deserves it less.

"Sir, would you prefer to dip your testicles in acid or a wood-fired oven?...."

Holy shit, America has 400 billionaires? Doesn't that seem like a lot? There are 400 Scrooge McDucks out there, swimming in gold coins. Nice that 40 of them are giving back in a big way, though.

I was shocked when I saw Buffett was pledging 99% of his wealth until I realized that that 1% is probably ten times more money than I'll ever make in my life.

Whatever. Most of these pricks are probably the same people who have run our economy into the ****ing ground. I'd rather see them all make a suicide pact.

:spock:

If they gave that 600 Billion to every American, it would be about 2000/person.

You watch, IF this happens it will be in such a way that the donators make a profit on it.
How do you think they got to be billionaires in the first place?

By not spending much

Close.
By not spending much that doesn't net them a healthy ROI.

That would help a $3it ton of people...

ROFL

Was Donger's name on that list?

I didn't see Donger but there was definitely a Dane.

Nice, every idea comes around again. Jonathan Swift would be so pleased. :clap:

http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

LMAO

Not yet. But, I think back to grade school when the teacher did the "What do you want to be when you grow up?" question. Most answers were "brewmeister!" and such. Mine was "robber baron."

This is great news because it just so happens I started a charity last week for people with (cams) compulsive animal masturbating syndrome. I have the land already to start the farm but I'm in need of several different species of animals. By the way if any body knows where I can get a Rhino please send me a PM. Thanks.

Is it the old money that's not letting go
I could understand that

Yep. That's how it got old.

With that kind of money Gates can vaccinate the world

its some kind of tax shelter

LMAO

The hatred for the rich and successful always puzzles me. They make a shit load of money (and also create a lot of prosperity for others while they are making a shit load of money) and that's evil. Then they make a huge gesture to give a huge percentage of it away to charity, and that's evil.

America. Who knew?

What about Sri Lanka?

"Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future. We’ll keep on working," Buffett said.

That's a weird ass quote.

That's a very vague statement. Who hates all rich people? If you could be specific it would help.

C.P.R.=ChiefsPlanet reeruns.

Great quote. What I get from that is irregardless of where an individual is on the path we need to all need to keep working from that point to advance. I could elaborate if I thought anyone cared to hear it.

which charities?

OK, hate is a strong word. I guess the cynicism is what gets me. Just read the thread, there are a few posts full of cynicism, and some outright vitriol towards rich people simply because they are rich people. Like that makes them evil and untrustworthy, that their motives are all driven by money and greed etc.

It was just a passing comment is all.

That is very kind and generous of those 40 people and families. Kudos to them.

Fair enough.