As the Truth sees it…

People always use the phrase “put your money where your mouth is.”
For Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, I hope they have pretty big mouths.
The two richest men in America have put the rest of the country’s billionaires on notice. They have launched a campaign to get the rest of the billionaires to donate at least half their wealth to charity.
If the members on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans pledged half their net worth to charity, the total could amount to as much as $600 billion.
Say that with me again, $600 billion.
Imagine the amount of food, medicine, school books, clothes and homes that cash could buy.
Gates (worth $53 billion) and Buffett ($47 billion) have been trying to pursue others for the last year to donate their wealth, either during their lifetime or at the time of their death. Only a few have gravitated to the idea, so far. They include Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad; Silicon Valley’s John and Tashia Morgridge and venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins.
If the dynamic duo are successful, they could literally change the world. They have labeled their efforts “The Giving Pledge” and have set up a website, givingpledge.org.
“The Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to the philanthropic causes and charitable organizations of their choice, either during their lifetime or after their death,” the website states. “The Pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract. It does not involve pooling money or supporting a particular set of causes or organizations. While the Giving Pledge is specifically focused on billionaires, the idea takes its inspiration from efforts in the past and at present that encourage and recognize givers of all financial means and backgrounds. We are inspired by the example set by millions of Americans who give generously (and often at great personal sacrifice) to make the world a better place.”
This could be a transformational idea. One that would rival the Internet, fire and the car.
But, the more interesting question is, how many of the richest people in the country actually will make the pledge and promise to give half of what they have worked to gather.
I want to be optimistic and believe it will be done, but it’s hard to envision.
How many of you would go that far if you were asked to? I know I would have to think about it.
Michael Kinney

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 16th, 2010 at 5:38 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.