Buffet Giving It Away
The top story on Techmeme this morning is Warren Buffet’s decision to give his fortune away, much of it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffet’s reasoning for supporting the Gates Foundation? The organization was at scale, with great leadership. In otherwords, in keeping with his own management philosophies, Buffet chose not to create another bureaucracy, but rather to leverage the organization already built by someone else.
Buffet plans to give 5% of his fortune away annually, and approximately 5/6th of that will go to the Gates Foundation so long as either Bill or Melinda are living. His annual donation must be fully dispersed within two years. He will also join the Board of Trustees of the Gates Foundation.
Buffet’s gift will more than double the annual disbursement of the Gates Foundation. The foundation gives a little less than $1.5 billion annually. Buffet’s money will increase that by about $1.5 billion. To put that in perspective, the annual budget of the UN is about the same. The World Health Organizaton spends about a billion annually.  The International Red Cross, about $750 million.
The Gates Foundation is a private institution with the ability, and the legal requirement, to spend at the level of the largest international institutions. And, as Don Dodge notes, it can spend at those levels without the bureacracy of the UN.
It’s mind boggling.
July 19th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Dear Mr. Buffet and Mr. Gates, Praise the LORD for your decision to give back a portion of your wealth God has blessed you with. Be prepared for God to richly return your blessings. I highly admire your efforts and will pray for you. I also am starting a foundation in another area of service; to feed the poor and needy in the San Diego area and worldwide through specific trustworthy organizations. May you, your families, and your entire staffs have great wisdom and be richly blessed. Love in Jesus Velma Talnadge vtalnadge@COX.NET
July 2nd, 2007 at 1:17 am
dera mr gates i am a mother of 3 grandmother of9 i have worked all my life and bought my children up to do the same i am now 54 and still work very haed in the bannanas in innisfail no matter how hard i work i just dont seam to be able to pay all my bills and be able to save to go over to usa as my daughter is over there she is married to an americian i am bringing her 15 year old daughter up as she did not want to go over there to live but i would love to pay all my bills so i could take her my husband and my self over to see my daughteri was wondering if you were giving some money away we would love some nothing like that has rver happend to us i cant win anything over 2 dollars its sad but people like us work all our life to realy get no where as things keep going up lukey people like you never know how it feels not to have enough money to get by some weeks thank you coral furber 20 boulter close innisfail qld 4860
December 10th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
I am a 36 year old mother of 4 girls, who works a part time job in sales, and works cleaning houses trying to make ends meet. I try to provide them with the things that they need, but that isn’t always possible. I have fallen on hard times, living in a drug infested area due to the fact that I was evicted and this was the only place I could find. I am not able to get any support from my family because they are having it hard themslves. I would like for my girls to be able to have a decent childhood what they have left of it without having to worry about if we are going to have lights and heat for christmas. I don’t worry about myself I just want my girls to grow up with a better life than what I had. I am not the kind of person that likes to ask for help, but I know sometimes we have to do what is neede for our children. My only wish is that my girls will have a better chance at a education than what I did, they neede tutoring for school, but I am unable to pay for it. I know that education is the key to the way out of a community like the one we live in. Any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, p.o. box 86 Lumberton, N.C. 28359
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Dear Mr. Buffet and Mr. Gates, I need money to attend college while supporting my neborne infant. I am currently a stay home mom and i am only twenty one, it feels like i am being held against what i am meant to do which is to go to school and have a good academic achievement. I am dreaming about becoming human resouce personal. To acomplish my dream i need financial support. If you are able to help i will be forever in debt too you. I guess then i can do same as you are helping others. When i acomplish my dream with your help i will do anything in my power to help as many mothers, who are in need of help with financial support to return to work force. I hope to continue your legacey, if i am in level too.
November 3rd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Dear Mr. Buffet and Mr. Gates,
It has been a blessing to be born in America during a time, when you could make great wealth. I never thought about making great wealth. I thought about just making a living and being happy to do so.
I recently went to Brazil, twice now. I was so happy to be able to visit such a land of great beauty and natural resources. Those resources are only in the hand of a few and yet, I cried every day to see small children living on the streets. Brazil is full of great and wonderful people but I soon realized that they didn’t know how to handle the world wide problem of abandoned children living on the streets and trying to make every day count.
I returned from Brazil last year only to be confronted by the disaster that happened to my house. My house had a leak that destroyed the entire downstairs areas. I cried and prayed about the disaster but my tears were more for the children on the streets in Sao Paulo and in Rio De Janiero. I prayed a lot and God spoke to me and told me that I knew what to do. So, I refied my house to try to establish a non profit that would build an Academy to house, educate and take care of the abandoned children that no one seems to want or care about.
I just did a fact finding trip back to Brazil, to see that the situation is sitll bad, and I met with some of the city officials and top religious leaders in the Sao Paulo area. I felt blessed that I now have a good friend down there who introduced me to some of the most wonderful people in the world. They went out of their way to get me appointments with people that usually had a long waiting list. I found out that the system as usual don’t like outside influence at all. They have an idea that my system that I will use will be very successful and that they won’t be in control of it for, I don’t want public money but rather private enterprise to establish the Campus of the Academy.
That is where, I plan to ask the Gates Foundation and all other private American and Brazilian companies to support this endeavor to help to rescue aleast two hundred of the kids off the streets per year so that we can help them to have a chance to be heathy productive and caring citizens of Brazil and the world.
The Budget will be about 10 million dollars for the first site. We estimate that we will need three sites eventually. This will not be a game,but a way to help about 600 kids each and every year to realize what we take for granted here in the United States. We will establish an outreach center also.
The religious leaders think that the idea is great for they also have shelters and other facilities that help.
The paper work is being done as I type and hopefully, I will be able to get the 501c3 to do the fund rasing and the Gates Foundation will be one of our contributors. The major problem is that everything costs money and I am carrying this all alone. I know that I am very blessed so that I know that goodness will be the end results of my efforts.
God never lets any of us down!!!! However, all help will be needed down the road. I can’t raise not one penny until the gov’t gives us the 501c3 certificate which cost $850.00. I will pay that out of my pocket but I will need to have funds coming in to do all the other things that need to be done.
I realize that this is a hard time for all middle to lower classed Americans, but it is always a hard time for babies on the streets.!!!!
I ask for your help down the road. I know that good things will come for so many who are innocent and don’t even have anyone to kiss them good night.
So, I hope that Mr. Gates and Mr. Buffet will hear about this non profit and help to make the dreams come true for our smallest people, the children abandoned on the streets of emerging countries. Afterall, they all are future customers.
Thanks for your valuable time.
Always, the best,
Joseph Faucette