Did not Bill Gates and Buffet give all to charity?

[Matteo Martini]

I remember, not so long ago, when Buffet said he was giving the bulk of his money (40 billions and countring) to charity, and now I keep reding stories like this one:
Buffett Strikes a Deal With the Pritzker Family
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/business/26deal-web.html?ref=business

How can he give away 4.5billions, if he just gave 35billions to the Gates Foundation?

Same story for Bill Gates, he keep giving away billions, and still #1 of the riches

[Rob Lister]

Neither has given away all their money. They just said they "willed" it to ...whatever. Though I must admit, both are fairly heavy givers. I'm not sure of the percentage but regardless, its still a sizable chunk of change.

[Matteo Martini]

Neither has given away all their money. They just said they "willed" it to ...whatever. Though I must admit, both are fairly heavy givers. I'm not sure of the percentage but regardless, its still a sizable chunk of change.

Warren E. Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and one of the world's wealthiest men, plans to donate the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four other philanthropies starting in July.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/26/business/26buffett.html
this was said in 2006.
Buffett is 75.
Let` s hope he hurries up..

[articulett]

And they are non-theists.

:)

[danielk]

Yeah, it sucks! Bill Gates is supposed to be the Anti-Christ in my profession!

Looks like I have to grant old Billy Boy his generosity and his atheism. But apart from that he's still the Anti-Christ. :p

[Gazpacho]

Neither has given away all their money. They just said they "willed" it to ...whatever.
Yes, this. The 30 billion or whatever was a pledge, and this was noted in news reports at the time.

Gates is actively distributing money to charitable purposes, which is not quite the same as "giving it away." He and the other people at the Foundation are serious about oversight and making sure that they get results over the long term.

[Tokenconservative]

I remember, not so long ago, when Buffet said he was giving the bulk of his money (40 billions and countring) to charity, and now I keep reding stories like this one:
Buffett Strikes a Deal With the Pritzker Family
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/business/26deal-web.html?ref=business

How can he give away 4.5billions, if he just gave 35billions to the Gates Foundation?

Same story for Bill Gates, he keep giving away billions, and still #1 of the riches

Hmmm....looks as if neither is the eeeehhhvvvviiilll monster you were hoping.

On the other paw, both are fairly liberal (hard to tell with Gates, to be sure). Buffet is all for the death tax being re-instituted, for example, and is all for raising taxes, too.

Of course not the kind HE pays, but income taxes, like most of us other "rich" pay.

And Gates has also said similar things.

Tokie

[Wolfman]

I remember, not so long ago, when Buffet said he was giving the bulk of his money (40 billions and countring) to charity, and now I keep reding stories like this one:
Buffett Strikes a Deal With the Pritzker Family
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/business/26deal-web.html?ref=business

How can he give away 4.5billions, if he just gave 35billions to the Gates Foundation?

Same story for Bill Gates, he keep giving away billions, and still #1 of the richesIt wasn't Buffet that spent that money; it was a firm controlled by him. I'm quite sure that the amount of money controlled by the various corporate entities in which Buffet is involved (ie. is on the Board of Directors, owns shares, etc.) is in and of itself quite significant, but it is not Buffet's personal money.

I can give a (much smaller) illustration of the same principle from my own life. Last year, I spent donated $10,000 of my own money to a non-profit organization that I've established in China. That money represented quite a hefty chunk of my own personal wealth at the time.

Besides the non-profit organization, I also own my own business here. I just recently spent $50,000 on expanding that same company.

Now, if $10,000 represented a hefty chunk of my "fortune", how was I then able to spend $50,000 later? Because the $50,000 was a combination of money coming from my company, and loans. None of which had anything whatsoever to do with my personal wealth.

In a deal as large as the one you mentioned above, it is never so easy as just handing over $4.5 billion in cash. Much of that money may come from loans, or capital investment. It may come in the form of stock options, instead of cash. In fact, the company probably will only need to pay only small portion of that money out of their own pocket (and Buffet, if he pays anything from his own pocket, will pay even less).

Buffet's donation to Bill and Melinda Gates' foundation likewise does not represent anything so simple as just handing over a (very big) pile of cash. Much of the money will, again, be in the form of bonds, stocks, trust funds, etc. And the majority of that money will never be spent. It will instead be invested to make profit, and the profits from that investment are what will actually be used to fund charitable activities.

This virtually guarantees longterm sustainability and viability for projects undertaken by their organization. Because they do not need to rely on donations, and because they can be reasonably confident of a steady stream of income over a very long period of time, they can take a very long perspective on their plans, and how they'll use the money. From what I've seen, they tend not to look for quick-fix situations, but rather for projects that involved a long-term commitment of resources (AIDS research being a good example of this).

[Gazpacho]

Warren E. Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and one of the world's wealthiest men, plans to donate the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four other philanthropies starting in July.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/26/business/26buffett.html
this was said in 2006.
Buffett is 75.
Let` s hope he hurries up..
He's donating now and will donate in the future. If you don't live in the developing world, you're not likely to see much direct benefit from the donations.

Here is his original announcement: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/donate/bmgfltr.pdf

[shadron]

From the Wikipedia article on the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation:

"The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (B&MGF) is the largest transparently operated[2] charitable foundation in the world, founded by Bill and Melinda Gates in 2000 and doubled in size by Warren Buffett in 2006. "

"On June 25, 2006, Warren Buffett (then the world's third richest person, after Gates) pledged to give the foundation approximately 10 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares (worth US$30.7 billion on June 23, 2006) spread over multiple years through annual contributions.[7] Buffett set conditions so that these contributions do not simply increase the foundation's endowment, but effectively work as a matching contribution, doubling the Foundation's annual giving: "Buffett's gift came with three conditions for the Gates foundation: Bill or Melinda Gates must be alive and active in its administration; it must continue to qualify as a charity; and each year it must give away an amount equal to the previous year's Berkshire gift, plus another 5 percent of net assets. Buffett gave the foundation two years to abide by the third requirement."[8] The Gates Foundation received 5% (500,000) of the shares in July 2006 and will receive 5% of the remaining earmarked shares in the July of each following year (475,000 in 2007, 451,250 in 2008, and so on)."

"As of 2006, the foundation has an endowment of approximately US$34.6 billion. To maintain its status as a charitable foundation, it must donate at least 5% of its assets each year."

An endowment is an amount of money owned by the foundation upon which it reaps investment profits to donation in pursuing its objectives. Pretty much, 5% of an endowment is easily made in yearly investing, so the endowment can actually grow.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

It wasn't Buffet that spent that money; it was a firm controlled by him. I'm quite sure that the amount of money controlled by the various corporate entities in which Buffet is involved (ie. is on the Board of Directors, owns shares, etc.) is in and of itself quite significant, but it is not Buffet's personal money.

No, it is his personal money.

[suicidesamurai]

If I gave away 40 billion dollars and still had 1 billion in the bank, am I really that great of a guy? Whoa is me, only having a billion dollars left. But at least, since this is all very public, the whole world will know what a great guy I am and treat me as such.

Nice thing to do and all, but if it were me I would do it as quietly as possible.

[Matteo Martini]

He's donating now and will donate in the future. If you don't live in the developing world, you're not likely to see much direct benefit from the donations.


Does Japan count as "developing world"??
:) Sorry for the joke

[Wolfman]

It wasn't Buffet that spent that money; it was a firm controlled by him. I'm quite sure that the amount of money controlled by the various corporate entities in which Buffet is involved (ie. is on the Board of Directors, owns shares, etc.) is in and of itself quite significant, but it is not Buffet's personal money.

No, it is his personal money.
And your evidence for that is...???

The original article states that, "Berkshire Hathaway, the firm controlled by Warren E. Buffett, said Tuesday that it would pay $4.5 billion for a controlling stake in Marmon Holdings, an industrial conglomerate owned by the Pritzker family, the prominent Chicago business dynasty."

The fact that Buffet controls the firm does not make the money Buffet's personal money. If ya' wanna' disagree with me, fine...but I'd expect a person with a name like "Central Scrutinizer" to recognize that a simple statement of disagreement does not in any manner, shape, or form constitute a valid form of debate, unless accompanied by supporting arguments/facts.

Unless you're part of the Monty Python troupe. :)

[Matteo Martini]

[..]...but I'd expect a person with a name like "Central Scrutinizer" to recognize that a simple statement of disagreement does not in any manner, shape, or form constitute a valid form of debate, unless accompanied by supporting arguments/facts.
[..]

I have told you and I repeat it here.
I will nominate you for the next language award

[thaiboxerken]

If I gave away 40 billion dollars and still had 1 billion in the bank, am I really that great of a guy?


Yes.

[The Central Scrutinizer]

And your evidence for that is...???

The original article states that, "Berkshire Hathaway, the firm controlled by Warren E. Buffett, said Tuesday that it would pay $4.5 billion for a controlling stake in Marmon Holdings, an industrial conglomerate owned by the Pritzker family, the prominent Chicago business dynasty."

The fact that Buffet controls the firm does not make the money Buffet's personal money. If ya' wanna' disagree with me, fine...but I'd expect a person with a name like "Central Scrutinizer" to recognize that a simple statement of disagreement does not in any manner, shape, or form constitute a valid form of debate, unless accompanied by supporting arguments/facts.

Unless you're part of the Monty Python troupe. :)

Sorry, I didn´t read the entire thread. I thunk you were talking about the donation to the Gates Foundation. That is his money. But the purchase of a stake in Marmon is Berkshire money.

[shadron]

If I gave away 40 billion dollars and still had 1 billion in the bank, am I really that great of a guy? Whoa is me, only having a billion dollars left. But at least, since this is all very public, the whole world will know what a great guy I am and treat me as such.

Nice thing to do and all, but if it were me I would do it as quietly as possible.

Ehh, he earned the right to attach his name to it; he could have simply passed it on to whatever wastrels follow in his footsteps, and thence to the community of lawyers at large. I would think it would be nearly impossible to give away $40,000,000,000 anonymously, in any case.

And it is his - I gravely doubt his company holds that kind of wealth in it's own stock (though it certainly does in non-liquid assets), and no one would invest in a company that would simply give that amount away, as that would be on the books as a solid liability.