Pay It Forward

Google Mogul Giving Back

Sergey Brin donates to immigration organization.

Without immigration, the world may have been without Google. After 30 years in the U.S., Google cofounder Sergey Brin is donating $1 million of his estimated $16 billion fortune to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, which he credits with helping his family move to America from the Soviet Union when Brin was 6 years old. “I would have never had the kinds of opportunities I’ve had here in the Soviet Union, or even in Russia today,” he said, adding that the gift is the beginning of more philanthropy from the mogul and his wife. “We’ve given away over $30 million so far, which isn’t so tiny but obviously small in terms of our, um, theoretical wealth,” he said, mentioning Bill Gates’ methodical philanthropic growth as a model for his own plans.