The Christmas Saints Of Wall Street
There is something about twinkling lights, garlands and gifts that causes a change in people - not the same change as a good eggnog with double the rum does, but its not far off. At Christmas time, people are merrier and more generous than usual. The Red Cross and UNICEF see moredonations in December than they do in all the other 11 months combined. People that usually sprint toward the office with their collars up and their eyes straight may be more likely to drop change into an outstretched hand or donation pot. Strangers exchange greetings instead of suspicious glares - this is the Christmas spirit.
This Christmas season, we will look at some people whose Christmas spirit doesnt leave when the pine needles drop. They may not be in the same league as ol Saint Nick, but they arent far off.
The Old Guard
Philanthropy on Wall Street is not a recent event. It has, however, been in need of a pick-up since the recession pinched, squeezed and finally stemmed the flow of big money into charity. The original saints of Wall Street can still be felt by tracing your finger down a list of libraries, hospitals, foundations, research centers, womens shelters and other projects aimed at helping the less fortunate. If you do this, youll find that some names occur more often than others.
Steel, Oil and Cars
The old guard, consisting of Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew W. Mellon and Henry Ford, all made their fortunes in oil, steel or a combination of the two - cars, ships, etc. Charity came to these men late in life, and it is sometimes said that much of their philanthropy was giving back the money they made from crushing unions and creating unfair monopolies. While there is truth to these claims, it is also true that most of what we call unsavory business practices in hindsight were commonplace in their time. Carnegie, Rockefeller, Mellon and Fords devotion to education, medical care and the fight against poverty made them stand out at a time when the worlds richest people hoarded their money within their families. These men, and the foundations they left behind, have given billions of dollars to improve life in America.
The Next Generation
Whereas the philanthropists of the past were based in heavy industry, the next generation is largely made of tech street barons and stock gurus. Here are few of the members of the new generation of philanthropists:
Gordon and Betty Moore (Intel)
Gordon Moore was one of the co-founders of Intel Corporation. With his wife Betty, he has made donations in the hundreds of millions of dollars to two main causes: environmental conservation (with a focus on marine life) and medicine. The latter grew out of Betty Moores bad experiences with hospitals. Betty and her husband have funded training programs for nurses in the hope of preventing common medical mistakes. The Moores also have given generously to improving secondary education, culminating in a $600-million gift to the California Institute of Technology in 2001.
Michael and Susan Dell
Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computers, and his wife Susan have been increasing their involvement in philanthropy every year since Michael stepped down as the CEO in July 2004, leaving behind a profitable company through which he amassed a large personal fortune. Having four young children of their own, the Dells have used their wealth to advance childrens causes (heath, education and medicine). The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation was established in 1999 and boasted $1.2 billion in assets in 2006.
George Soros
George Soros has given more than $3 billion dollars of his fortune to various causes, both political and social, over his lifetime. Soros philanthropy began in the 70s when he helped black students attend university in apartheid South Africa. Since then, Soros has continued to follow his dream of an open society. His gifts are generally used to advance liberal causes across the globe. Though his views are sometimes considered controversial, such as his opposition to the war on drugs, Soros has had a significant impact on international affairs. He was part of the puzzle that helped the Rose Revolution overturn a corrupt government in Georgia as well as having some influence on the Orange Revolution that toppled the Soviet-friendly Ukrainian government in 2004 (although recidivism remains a problem in both cases). His involvement in these causes is related to his own experiences with repressive regimes. He lived through the Nazi invasion of Hungary only to see his country freed by the Soviets, whereupon he fled at the age of 15.
Bill and Melinda Gates
Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have left behind Microsoft in order to focus on dispersing the largest fortune in the world. Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, they are in the process of transferring their wealth into projects that include medical care and education in developing countries, as well as a number of domestic charities. The foundation, with its $30-billion-plus endowment, is the largest international and domestic charity. Bill Gates personal gift of $27 billion far surpasses Andrew Carnegies lifetime total (inflation adjusted) of $7.6 billion. Bill and his wife have gone after the most common and pervasive problems in the world. They believe that while AIDS and cancer kill large portions of the developed worlds population, far more deaths result from preventable illnesses like acute diarrhea and tuberculosis, of which children are often the victims. The Gates foundations grants for vaccine research provide an incentive to fix these common problems.
Warren Buffett
In 2004, Warren Buffetts wife, Susan, died. It was her wish that her shares of Berkshire Hathaway be given to a foundation that she and her husband had started in the 1960s. The $2.5 billion endowment is being used to support reproductive choice in addition to petitioning for a reduction in nuclear arms. Warren Buffett and his former wife differed in their opinions toward charity. In a TV interview before her death, she said that she wanted to give aid now, whereas her husband wanted to focus on compounding his fortune to leave a massive lump sum behind for his wife to disperse. In the summer of 2006, however, Buffett gave his wife a final gift. He pledged 83% of his shares, estimated to be worth a total of $44 billion dollars, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This transaction will double the size of the Gates Foundation (originally around $30 billion).
Yuletide Message
Charity is a very personal thing. Some people give to a particular cause because of past experiences, as with George Soros and the Moores. Some give to general causes in the hope of improving the world from the bottom up. The people mentioned above have been selected not only because of their wealth, but also because their donations represent significant amounts of their wealth. The Moores various endowments account for two thirds of their wealth and Warren Buffetts gift is estimated to be around nine-tenths of his worth.
Because few people, whether rich or poor, donate such a large proportion of their incomes to charity, the people weve detailed here are truly exceptional philanthropists. But according to a survey by Giving USA, Americans as whole donated to charity in record numbers in 2005 and most of those donations came from individual donors. Also, households with incomes below $100,000, which represents 90% of the U.S. population, provide about 60% of all the money donated to charities in a given year. In other words, while it may seem like you cant top the mega-donations provided by some of the wealthiest Americans, those few dollars you pass on to charity, perhaps around the holidays, really count.
