Chances are that, over time, the Gates Foundation will become less, rather than more innovative in its giving. At the event announcing his gift to the Gates Foundation, Mr. Buffett declared his opposition to "dynastic wealth," meaning a financial inheritance that is passed on to generations that didn't earn it.
The challenge for Mr. Buffett, as well as for Mr. and Mrs. Gates, will be to prevent the creation of a philanthropic dynasty -- an organization that exists in perpetuity, clinging tightly to its assets and ever further removed from its benefactors and their intentions.
A simple step solves this problem: The Gates Foundation could agree to spend itself out of existence.
A decision to spend an endowment now rather than protect it forever also allows a foundation to have a big impact on a knowable present instead of a smaller influence on a mysterious future.
"Our foundation and its partners are tackling some of the most challenging problems in the world," says a statement on the Gates Foundation Web site. If that's true, then shouldn't they be spending every last penny of resources that can be directed at these problems right now? That would really be "giving back."
[Excerpt of an article by John J. Miller, The Wall Street Journal]
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