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Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are together worth
$106 billion, but they don't want that wealth. Not for them-
selves, not for their children. They want the less-privileged
to benefit from it, and are retooling the way this transfer
takes place. In scale, urgency, planning and execution.
Both lead by example. If Buffett is a
role model on how to give, Gates is
taking the lead to solve some of the
biggest problems facing the world
today. They have pledged to give away
all their wealth, in their lifetimes, under their control.
They have also taken it on themselves to coax corporate
captains to do the same. As they make that pitch to Indian
business leaders, Ahona Ghosh traces their evolution
from wealth creators to wealth givers.
Warren Buffett Bill Gates
Age 80 years Age 55 years
Business Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway Business Founder, Microsoft
Net worth $ 50 billion Net worth $ 56 billion
Family Married to second wife, Astrid Menks; has a Family Married to Melinda Gates; have 3 daughters
daughter and 2 sons from first wife, Susan
When did he start giving? be in conflict with its work. For exam-
When did he start giving? tions: the Gates Foundation, the Su- Bill Gates began his major philanthrop- ple, it had a polio and measles vacci-
For most of his years as the world's san Thompson Buffett Foundation ic efforts in 1994, when he sold $94 nation drive going in Nigeria in 2007.
smartest investor and the richest, and the three foundations run by million of his Microsoft stock to create But the people in Ebocha, Nigeria,
Buffett wasn't a generous giver. In each of his three children. The biggest the William H Gates Foundation. Named blamed their respiratory problems on
the early-60s, his first wife, Susan, beneficiary would be the Gates Foun- after his father, the foundation focused the flames and soot spewing from the
and he set up the Buffett Foundation. dation, receiving five-sixths of the on global health. Three years later, he nearby oil plant owned by the Italian
He always held he would give most of giveaway—10 million shares. As on and wife Melinda created the Gates Li- Oil giant Eni, one of whose investors
his wealth to society, but also thought June 23, 2006, when he gave the first brary Foundation, which worked to was the Gates Foundation.
this would happen after his death and instalment, the shares were valued at provide US libraries free online access; The foundation has invested $1.2 bil-
would be overseen by Susan, who $30.7 billion, making it the largest today, more than 99% are hooked up. lion in malaria research since 2000. In
was two years younger to him. donation ever. Or, even since. 2008, a New York Times article quot-
Buffett is not making a one-time What changed for him? ed Arata Kochi, the chief of the malar-
What changed for him? grant to the five foundations. He is The scale up started in 2000, when the ia programme at the World Health Or-
doing it in annual instalments so as to AP
Susan's death in 2004. He started couple merged the two foundations ganisation, complaining that the
thinking about giving in his lifetime. calibrate it to their funding needs.
It helped Buffett that the Bill & Melin- Buffett gives a set number of Berk- Giving And Keeping into their Bill & Melinda Gates Founda-
tion. Gates was inspired by the philan-
growing dominance of malaria re-
search by the foundation risks stifling
da Gates Foundation, which focused shire B shares to the five foundations. thropic work of Andrew Carnegie and a diversity of views among scientists
Through the ‘Giving Pledge’, the Buffett-Gates duo is coaxing the world’s uber-rich to
on global health, came along. Com- In 2006, he gave 602,500 shares; of John D Rockefeller, who focused on and wiping out the health agency's
pared to the (renamed) Susan Thomp- this, 500,000 went to the Gates Foun-
give back most of their wealth to society. The response is mixed. While 59 American
global problems ignored by govern- policy-making function.
son Buffett Foundation, which had dation, worth $1.5 billion. billionaires, with a declared net worth of $317 billion, pledged to donate generously ments and other organisations. Today,
just five employees, the Gates Foun- Every year, the number of shares (see below), the Chinese billionaires were tight-fisted. the Gates Foundation has an endow-
dation was much larger in size and will reduce by 5%. However, Buffett ment of $36.7 billion, making it the Where has the money
much wider in scope. He chose it and expects the inflow to the foundations AGE NET WORTH AGE NET WORTH largest in the world. It is active in over been used?
(YEAR) ($ BN) (YEAR) ($ BN)
became a trustee, but he's not active- to keep increasing because of the ap- 100 countries and has about 900 em-
ly involved in the foundation's in- preciation in share price. Indeed, Paul G Allen 58 13.0 Bernie and Billi Marcus 81 1.9 ployees. $36.7bn $24.5bn
vestments. June to June, the Berkshire B stock Laura and John Arnold 37 3.3 Asset trust Grant commitments
has appreciated in three of the four Nicolas Berggruen 50 2.2 What does the Gates Foundation do? endowment since inception
Why Gates Foundation? years since 2006: 18.5% in 2007, Michael and
Globally, it is to improve healthcare
Lori Milken
Buffett first met Bill Gates in 1991. As 6.2% in 2008 and 22% in 2010. Only
Age 64 2.1 and reduce extreme poverty. In Amer- $2.6bn
he came to know the couple and the in 2009, in a world economy mauled Michael R. ica, it is to expand educational oppor- Total 2010 grant payments
foundation's work more, he realised by the slowdown, it dropped 17%. Bloomberg tunities and access to information
this could be his main vehicle for giv- Age 69 18.1 George P Mitchell 87 2.4 technology. 2010 Breakup GRANT
($ MN)
ing. The foundation was already Has he placed any conditions? Thomas S Monaghan 74 1.0 GLOBAL HEALTH
The release of every instalment is What is his involvement? Polio 404.9
Eli and Edythe Broad 77 5.8 Tashia and John Morgridge 77 1.1
subject to three conditions. One, in a Bill and Melinda Gates have pledged HIV/AIDS 399.9
“Were we to use more than given year, the foundation should Warren Buffett 80 50.0 Dustin Moskovitz 26 2.7
the vast majority of their assets— $56 Pneumonia & Flu 164.6
1% of my claim checks on have deployed a minimum amount Jean and Steve Case 52 1.3 Pierre and Pam Omidyar 43 6.7 billion, at latest count—to their foun- Malaria 140.6
ourselves, neither our equal to the value of the entire previ- Michele Chan, Patrick Soon-Shiong 59 5.2 Bernard and Barbro Osher 83 NA dation. Gates has already given away Tuberculosis 139.4
happiness nor our well-being ous year's grant from Buffett. Two, it Lee and Toby Cooperman 68 1.5 Ronald O Perelman 68 12.0 more than a third of his wealth to the Family planning 124.6
would be enhanced. In should have deployed 5% of the foun- foundation. Were it not for his gener- Nutrition 38.7
Barry Diller, Diane Furstenberg 69 1.3 Peter G Peterson 84 1.0
contrast, that remaining 99% dation's net assets. Three, the grants ous giving, he might still hold the title Maternal, new born, child health 35.1
will continue only till either Bill or Ann and John Doerr 59 2.2 T Boone Pickens 82 1.4 Neglected diseases 26.5
can have a huge effect on the he doesn't care about—the world's
Melinda is active in it. Julian H. Robertson, Jr. 79 2.3 richest man. (For the record, it is now Diarrhea 23.2
health and welfare of others”
Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, with a net Tobacco 9.5
What is notable about all this? Larry Vaccines 3.2
Ellison worth of $74 billion.)
Two things. One, his children will not
David Health science and technology 0.8
WARREN BUFFETT
inherit a significant portion of his
Age 66 39.5 Rockefeller But Gates is not just giving money.