Warren Buffett has
announced a few days ago his decision donating 10 million
Berkshire Hathaway class B shares to the
Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, 350,000 class B shares to The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and yet another 350,000 class B shares to each of his sons foundations. Here are Warren's lovely
letters to each of them describing the transaction mechanics and details.
I have always had a deep admiration for Warren. His famous yearly letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders have made history teaching generations on economics and investing. Warren had mentioned his plans to donate most of his fortune long time ago, but this makes it concrete today and in a way he could only do it (you should read the mechanics from the letters!). After this new event, Warren is not just someone I profoundly admire, but my guide and hero. He's made the world such a better place! And he has worked so hard all his life to achieve this. This is such a gift to humanity.
Just imagine how many lives this can save. Imagine how this helps eradicating diseases and other inequities in underdeveloped economies. This change is a historic one, and has inspired me so much. And I believe this inspiration will stay there for the rest of my life. I have bought and read four different newspapers publishing articles on it, just to collect them and remind myself on the true meaning of life whenever needed.
Also, all the implementation details about his decision are plain wonderful. The altruism behind it, the mechanics, the fact of donating so much to someone else's foundation, the timing, the impact, its all perfect. BTW, Berkshire Hathaway shareholders should also feel great! This helps me understanding why we are here and how we can make the world a better place. How we can make the world remind us for what we have given.
It seems I'm not the only one inspired by his decision. Jackie Chan has also announced he was inspired by Warren and will be donating half his fortune to charity as well. I truly hope there will be plenty of other wealthy individuals and organizations to follow. Younger fellows like me will also hopefully get inspired and live accordingly. Having a meaningful conversation on this with a very close, good friend of mine, he quoted a philosopher saying something like "if a man does not find a reason he would give his life for, then he probably wont find a good reason to live either" (sorry, the reference and exact quote is missing ... please e-mail me if you have it). He also noted the correlation with a somehow more general species' preservation idea.
For an ending, I really think this will motivate me to work harder and smarter each single day of my life so that I can better help others and make a difference. Of course, I would never dare to compare myself with a genius like Warren, but I will surely make the best I can out of it. If we all do, our world can be such a better place to live. Generosity, uninterested giving is such a pleasure... Wouldn't you agree?
