The world's second wealthiest person, investor
Warren Buffett, has announced he will give the bulk of his $44 billion fortune
to a foundation run by the world's richest man, computer tycoon Bill Gates and
his wife Melinda.
Buffett says he will leave five-sixths of his shares in the Omaha,
Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway, which are worth more than $30 billion, to the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett will begin his donations starting in
July.
Buffett will also give money to several other
philanthropies , including
foundations headed by his three children.
The 75-year-old billionaire says he always planned to leave his money to a
philanthropy after his death. But the 2004 death of his wife Susan hastened his
decision.
"If you are accumulating wealth, it is very natural to go to somebody you
think can handle money better that you can and turn your money over to them and
say 'you can do a better job than I can do making some money. Well, I have some
people where I am saying "you can give it away better than I can so I am turning
it over to you, and you do a better job of giving it away than I would'."
The gift will double the size of the Gates Foundation, which is already the
world's largest foundation, valued at more than $29 billion. Bill and Melinda
Gates say they will use the money to deepen their work in areas the foundation
currently focuses on, particularly global health and education, rather than
expand to new areas. Buffett will join Bill and Melinda Gates as the third
trustee of the Seattle-based Foundation.
Bill Gates recently announced that he will step away from his day-to-day role
at the Microsoft Corporation over the next two years to work full-time with the
Foundation.
Melinda Gates says the more the couple becomes involved in disease
eradication, they more they want to do.
"We look very much at what diseases have the greatest impact on lives, where
we can save the most lives? So for instance, there is a drug which in 2006 will
hopefully become the first drug that the foundation in partnership with our
grantee institute will hopefully bring to places like India and Bangladesh,
where they have a disease call kala azar, black fever, that we really can save
about 200,000 lives a year if you can get this drug out there at a much lower
cost than the drugs that are available today," she said.
Buffett says he is leaving most of his fortune to philanthropy rather than
his children because he does not believe in dynastic wealth. His children, he
says, already have plenty of money and advantages.
"It is not in keeping with my view of how the world
should operate to create huge amounts of dynastic wealth," he said. "I do not
believe on inheriting your position in society based upon what womby you
come from.I am enormously proud of that they are going to have the
equivalent of billion-dollar-foundation each of them." The
Chronicle of Philanthropy says the gift is the largest
charitable commitment in history.
philanthropy: 慈善事業
（來源：VOA 英語點津meggie編輯）
