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Journalism of Courage
The Giving Pledge,announced by 38 American billionaires almost one in 10 of a total 400 in that bracket,dedicates about half their wealth totalling about 115 billion,to charity. A plan engineered by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet,the list includes New York mayor and moneybags Michael Bloomberg,Larry Ellison of Oracle,and others of that ilk. If their promises materialise,this will be a dramatic leap forward for philanthropy,and an example for the rest of the world.
In the last century,the US has devoted about 2 per cent of its GDP to charity,across all income groups. Andrew Carnegies suggestion,that the rich view themselves as stewards of their economic surplus,has been acted upon by generations of do-gooding tycoons from Rockefeller to George Soros. Now,a new kind of charitable giving has taken root,one that gears private sector principles for the public good. Bill Gates is the biggest exemplar of this new philanthrocapitalism. His global good works are unparalleled,combining a shrewd understanding of incentives and networks to energise the non-profit world,fighting poverty and infectious diseases like malaria,tuberculosis and HIV. In June 2006,Warren Buffet famously decided to give away most of his wealth to the Gates Foundation staggered at 5 per cent every year,and supervised. Buffet admits the chanciness of the market system he has benefited from: Ive worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal,rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents,but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions. In short,fates distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.
