Warren Buffett, the world's most admired investor and second richest man, plans to donate 85 per cent ($44 billion) of his wealth to charity. More than 83 per cent of Buffett's stock of Berkshire Hathway will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is already worth about $30 billion. This foundation gives grant for medical research and education. Warren Buffett is convinced that Bill Gates will be able to disperse it better than anybody else in the world. Bill hopes to eliminate 20 of the top diseases in the world today and better the system of education. Melinda Gates looks towards finding a vacine for the AIDS virus.
The two simple values on which the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is based upon are
* All lives—no matter where they are being led—have equal value.
* To whom much has been given, much is expected.
This is probably the largest donation by an individual that has been made in recent years. His astute understanding of this world and the needs of the people has prompted him to make this very generous donation. His magnamity is being well received all over the world. In a world that is being torn apart by wars and rumours of wars it is great to see the impact of the lives of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
An extract from Wikipedia on the life that Warren Buffett leads.
"Despite his immense wealth, Buffett is famous for his unpretentious and frugal lifestyle. He continues to live in the same house in Omaha he bought in 1958 for $31,500, although he also owns a summer house in Laguna Beach, California. His annual salary from Berkshire Hathaway of $100,000 is nominal by the standards of senior executive remuneration in the United States."