“They may not have reached a decision about that, but they have for sure thought about it. The pledge that we’re asking them to make will put them to thinking about the whole issue again.”
“If they wait until they’re making a final will in their nineties, the chance of their brainpower and willpower being better than they are today is nil.”
These are remarks from Warren Buffet who is on the path to challenge, dare, motivate and embarrass the “Great Givers” to commit to giving it away.
You know the dinner party question: “If you could invite anyone you wanted to a dinner party who would you invite?” There was actually a dinner party hosted in New York by David Rockefeller which included Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Ted Turner and about a dozen more influential people. The topic of discussion was giving it away!
There is a website in support of this venture at: http://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.
Warren Buffet is the first to post his pledge. Its typical Buffet (or what I perceive to be typical). I love his last paragraph.
“The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us down that course.”
I look forward to tracking the success of this effort. It will certainly be interesting to see the response from those who have amassed incredible wealth!