Buffett Donates $1.6 Billion to Gates Foundation

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-02/buffett-donates-1-6-billion-to-gates-foundation.html

by jacquesm • 16 years ago

13 19 16 years ago

businessweek.com

codemechanic• 16 years ago

Amazing.

dennisgorelik3• 16 years ago

What exactly do you find amazing in it?

wake_up_sticky• 16 years ago

The guy spent his entire life accumulating massive amounts of wealth, spent virtually none of it, and is now using it to make the world a better place. What don't you find amazing about that?

dzlobin• 16 years ago

In 2006, Buffet gave away 30 billion dollars worth of stock to the gates foundation

dennisgorelik3• 16 years ago

Gates actually donated more to his foundation -- he donated his time. I believe that if Gates stayed Microsoft's CEO -- Microsoft would be more successful company and delivered more to the society.

rortian• 16 years ago

That's really a pretty outrageous claim. Microsoft has been pretty stuck since it was found to have violated anti-trust law. Just because he rode one company up to become the world's richest man, doesn't mean that he could have done something to make Microsoft a better company today.

neilc2• 16 years ago

I don't think that was the outrageous or controversial part of the OP's comment at all. Making Microsoft a better company than they are today would just require beating Ballmer, which is not exactly difficult.

pgbovine• 16 years ago

I believe that if Gates stayed Microsoft's CEO -- Microsoft would be more successful company and delivered more to the society.

interesting opinion about microsoft possibly delivering more to society. would you care to speculate on what possible ways they could better benefit society if billg were still in charge? i can't think of how a new version of SQL Server or MS Excel could do more direct benefits than malaria vaccines, etc. but perhaps msft could put more money into basic research, using computational methods to solve the world's problems, etc.?

neilc2• 16 years ago

Well, if Microsoft delivered more value to shareholders (and to its employees), then those folks could choose to contribute that money to a variety of sources, philanthropic and otherwise. I'd personally think that the Foundation has done more good than a better MSFT would have, but suppose (1) billg delayed retiring by 10 years (2) we assume that billg's presence would have drastically improved MSFT's fortunates, then I think it's plausible that it would be a net benefit for society.

jeb• 16 years ago

The Gates Foundation seems to have a lot of high-profile donators sticking a lot of tax-free money in there.

Not to be cynical or anything - but there is as much malaria in the 3rd world as there was before this foundation started.

qq66• 16 years ago

Um, no.

http://www.globalhealthreporting.org/article.asp?DR_ID=54529

known• 16 years ago

With looming death tax, is there an alternative for Gates http://www.nodeathtax.org/deathtax

zandorg• 16 years ago

He should build a moonbase with it.

Buffett Donates $1.6 Billion to Gates Foundation

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