The Limits of Philanthropy

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2010/08/the-limits-of-philanthropy

The president and CEO of the Searle Freedom Trust, Kimberly O. Dennis, has a piece in the Wall Street Journal on the Warren Buffett-Bill Gates "Giving Pledge":

the wealthy may help humanity more as businessmen and women than as philanthropists.

What are the chances, after all, that the two forces behind the Giving Pledge will contribute anywhere near as much to the betterment of society through their charity as they have through their business pursuits? In building Microsoft, Bill Gates changed the way the world creates and shares knowledge. Warren Buffett's investments have birthed and grown innumerable profitable enterprises, making capital markets work more efficiently and enriching many in the process....

Successful entrepreneurs-turned-philanthropists typically say they feel a responsibility to "give back" to society. But "giving back" implies they have taken something. What, exactly, have they taken? Yes, they have amassed great sums of wealth. But that wealth is the reward they have earned for investing their time and talent in creating products and services that others value. They haven't taken from society, but rather enriched us in ways that were previously unimaginable.

by Editor  |  Aug 19, 2010 at 11:15 pm Related Topics:  Non-Profits, Warren Buffett receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list