Is Billionaire Giveaway Worthwhile?

Forty of America’s richest people—including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett—have recently signed a “Giving Pledge” to donate half of their wealth to charity. The promise translates to $115 billion. Kimberly Dennis, CEO of the Searle Freedom Trust, in an op-ed in Friday’s Wall Street Journal, plays devil’s advocate, by siding with billionaire Carlos Slim’s point that “Poverty is not fought with donations,” claiming: “The wealthy may help humanity more as businessmen and women than as philanthropists.” These businessmen have innovated society in such a way that any philanthropic endeavors will pale in comparison to their business ventures, Dennis argues. She also points to the regular failure of charitable ventures, most of which aren’t punished when they fail. Dennis believes that passing money on to one’s children may be more beneficial to the public, since these children will then reinvest the funds, creating jobs. And these men and women are under no obligation to “give back” to society, Dennis argues, for they have already “enriched us in ways that were previously unimaginable.”