Pensieri di un lunatico minore

Changing the face of philanthropy

There is not nearly enough philanthropy in the world, but now, there is a lot more than there was before. This last week, Warren Buffett, the 2nd richest man in the world, and perhaps the most successful businessman in the past century, decided to give away almost all his money. He is teaming up with the wealthiest couple in the world, Bill and Melinda Gates to create one of the most impressive and powerful forces in charity that we’ve ever seen. His reasons are, like all his management decisions, simple, clear and painfully rare:

If you think about it – if your goal is to return the money to society by attacking truly major problems that don’t have a commensurate funding base – what could you find that’s better than turning to a couple of people who are young, who are ungodly bright, whose ideas have been proven, who already have shown an ability to scale it up and do it right?

You don’t get an opportunity like that ordinarily. I’m getting two people enormously successful at something, where I’ve had a chance to see what they’ve done, where I know they will keep doing it – where they’ve done it with their own money, so they’re not living in some fantasy world – and where in general I agree with their reasoning. If I’ve found the right vehicle for my goal, there’s no reason to wait.

Compare what I’m doing with them to my situation at Berkshire, where I have talented and proven people in charge of our businesses. They do a much better job than I could in running their operations.

What can be more logical, in whatever you want done, than finding someone better equipped than you are to do it? Who wouldn’t select Tiger Woods to take his place in a high-stakes golf game? That’s how I feel about this decision about my money.

More clear thinking in his interview.