You Can't Take It With You
Friday, August 06, 2010

You can't take it with you, as the saying goes, which is why the world's two richest men, Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, are inviting America's wealthiest families to pledge substantial chunks of their riches to good causes, either in life or after their death.

So far, 40 of the wealthiest families and individuals in the United States have committed to returning the majority of their wealth to charitable causes by taking the 'Giving Pledge,' the name given to the long-term charitable project kicked off by Buffet and Gates six weeks ago.

Buffet says of the Giving Pledge that: “At its core [it] is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used. We’re delighted that so many people are doing just that – and that so many have decided to not only take this pledge but also to commit to sums far greater than the 50% minimum level.”

The Pledge is described as "a moral commitment to give," rather than a legal contract, and it does not involve pooling money or supporting a particular set of causes or organizations. Each person who chooses to pledge will make a public statement, and publish a letter on the Giving Pledge website explaining their decision to pledge. At an annual event, those who take the pledge will come together to share ideas.

Listed among the 40 billionaires who have signed up to the pledge are the likes of media mogul and New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, movie director George Lucas, Larry Ellison, founder of software company Oracle, Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay, and David Rockefeller.

Bloomberg's pledge letter states: "The reality of great wealth is that you can't spend it and you can't take it with you. For decades, I've been committed to giving away the vast majority of my wealth to causes that I'm passionate about - and that my children are passionate about. And so I am enthusiastically taking the Giving Pledge, and nearly all of my net worth will be given away in the years ahead or left to my foundation."

Financier T. Boone Pickens, worth an estimated USD3bn, wrote: "I’ve long stated that I enjoy making money, and I enjoy giving it away. To date, I’ve given away nearly USD800 million to a wide-range of charitable organizations, and I look forward to the day I hit the USD1 billion mark."

"I’m not a big fan of inherited wealth," he added. "It generally does more harm than good."