Words by Smiley Team
Warren Buffet’s wealth is estimated at $109.8 billion, but so far the investor - who owns more than 60 companies including insurance firm Geico and battery manufacturer Duracell - has given away $42.8 billion of that.
And he’s promised to keep going until he’s given away all but 1% of his fortune.
Buffet, 90, was the son of a US congressman who showed an early aptitude for business. He bought his first stock aged 11, and two years later, aged 13, he filed his first tax return.
He went on to marry and have three children, but rather than keeping his wealth for himself and his family, he decided instead to use it for good.
In 2010 he set up The Giving Pledge, along with Bill and Melinda Gates, a global organisation which encourages and supports the world’s wealthiest people to give away their money in order to help tackle society’s most pressing problems.
Signatories of The Giving Pledge make a moral commitment to give more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes. They also come together to learn and share knowledge in order to continue to improve the effectiveness of philanthropic giving.
When setting up The Giving Pledge Buffet said: “My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted results, though overall it serves our country well.
“The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced.
“In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others.”
Buffet’s main donations have been to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and foundations run by his children, and his philanthropic interests are primarily in health and the alleviation of poverty.
In December 2020 The Giving Pledge - in its tenth year - announced the total number of signatories had reached 216 people from 24 countries, ranging in age from 35 to 97 and providing support to a wide range of causes including COVID relief, climate change and sustainability, education, medical research, humanitarian disaster relief, gender equality and social justice.
Buffet’s idea has so far encouraged hundreds of ultra-wealthy people to donate billions of dollars to improve the health and welfare of people around the world
He said: “The Giving Pledge is a simple proposal to the world’s wealthiest: join us in giving away the majority of your resources to address society’s most pressing problems.
“I want to thank the more than 200 individuals and families from 24 countries who have joined in this commitment to leave the world better than we found it.”
