Gifts and Responsibilities

"Wealth is an advantage, but it also is frankly a responsibility." --Nicolas Berggruen

WSJ reports that Zuckerberg, Facebook's co-founder, has pledged to give away the majority of his wealth to "The Giving Pledge," which is "an effort organized by software mogul Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett to persuade the world's rich to boost their giving (WSJ)."

The list of the current 16 billionaires is interesting. More interesting, perhaps, are their accompanying letters and motivations, which basically boil down to the Berggruen's quotation above: being wealthy is nice, but it comes with responsibility. Yours truly certainly believes so (though he will not be contacted by Buffett and Co. for obvious reasons) and commends these 16 individuals. In particular, I single out Larry Ellison of Oracle, whom I have always viewed as a snob, both because of his aggressive business practices and his sailing hobby. Good for you, Mr. Ellison.

Surprisingly, several household billionaires names haven't come around yet: Steve Jobs (Apple), The Waltons (Wal-Mart), Sergey Brin / Larry Page (Google), Steve Balmer (quite surprising given Gates' position in the deal), Michael Dell (Dell, though maybe he's trying to figure out how to use his money to save his company from impending doom), Paul Allen (Jobs' old friend). Let's get this clear though: just because one is not on the list, does not mean that they don't do their part. Though it would be a nice cohesive gesture.

Bottom line: Bravo Billionaires. But, keep the cold calls going.

What do you think: Is it mostly your billion or should society be allowed to share in its fruits?