More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death. Measured by dollars, this commitment is large. In a comparative sense, though, many individuals give more to others every day.
Millions of people who regularly contribute to churches, schools, and other organizations thereby relinquish the use of funds that would otherwise benefit their own families. The dollars these people drop into a collection plate or give to United Way mean forgone movies, dinners out, or other personal pleasures. In contrast, my family and I will give up nothing we need or want by fulfilling this 99% pledge...
Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health, is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.
My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery...
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. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs.
For an explanation of the "
ovarian lottery," see my previous post.
This is all well and good, but it's not like Mr. Buffet is actually giving out money from nowhere. He's redistributing it. The money originally came from customers of various businesses. If Mr. Buffet doesn't want his share of the profits, the prices for the various products and services could be lowered accordingly, and the money would stay back in society without him having to concern himself with the burden of philanthropy. We all buy things that please us. Mr. Buffet is no different. He may eschew 'material things', to some extent, but his philanthropy is still all about buying something. People pay money every day to feel good. Ice cream, prostitutes, movies... In the big scheme of things, paying prostitutes distributes the money just as effectively and also makes the giver feel good. But it wouldn't be such good press for Mr. Buffet!
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