Indirectly, Denny. Indirectly. All that being said, while seemingly "lucking" his way early on into his mass fortune opportunities, he's since worked very hard to grow them....and, apparently, is giving back in the same manner. Outstanding!
Although a different application, Warren Buffett apparently feels the same way: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_&_Melinda_Gates_Foundation
There's a whole cabal of $billionaires who've pledged to give away their fortunes to charity before they die rather than give it to the govt. in the form of death tax. Bloomberg is another in that group. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge
I don't think avoiding estate tax is the main reason they're doing this...it's a whole lot more about doing some good with their money.
Well, if they thought government would do good with their money, they'd just let the estate tax kick in.
Something such as the golden rule isn't a virtue because it is in the bible. It is in the bible because it is a good thing.
He has stated that he doesn't believe his kids (or anyone i believe) should inherit so much wealth. He is leaving them each only (I use that term very loosely) 10M. I saw him donate 80-160M (80M +up to another 80M to match what the school raised) to his HS back when I was in college, so I think its more that he thinks his money is better served helping others than setting up his kids, grandkids, great grandkids and great great grandkids up for life.
I guess I'm not being clear. If he thought government was better suited to putting his money to good use, he'd make sure his money went to the government. Apparently he feels he can do better spending his money on charitable causes better than the government can. Make sense?
No, I get that. I just don't think it has anything to do with avoiding the estate tax. If every multi millionaire decided to donate 99% of their wealth when they died, then I'd be ok with that.
In some cases, the guys are spending a lot of their time managing their foundations. A duplication of govt. efforts to eradicate disease, for example (Gates Foundation). I don't think they're avoiding the estate tax per se. They want as little going to the govt. as possible. The list of these $billionaires is on that WikiPedia page. Every one of them took the pledge - to keep their wealth away from govt.
The Clinton Global Initiative is a pretty damn good foundation too. Our company has worked with a few ambassadors for Haiti, Peru and Northern Africa. They establish good farming practices to help combat hunger.
As I stated, I have heard Adam Carolla say it many times. I have used the term as well. You will often find the subgroup of atheists that don't believe, but understand and are fine with those who do believe , to use terms like this. Basically, it's a good phrase that doesn't have a good sounding atheist alternative. Like is somone sneezes, I will often say Bless you since the only alternative is German and I have more aingst with those Jew Killers (mostly joking). Anyway, many atheists don't really care that everyone always knows they are atheist. In December, I often say Merry Christmass if I think the person will appreciate it. And being a Jewish atheist, wishing Merry C is far more than saying "doing gods work".
See I find this hard to believe. I mean if you said he was agnostic; then that statement holds true. But in terms of an atheist; you will be extremely outward and specific to not pronounce a God exists. I see Gates as a spiritual man. Someone that believes there is more purpose than himself. He may not believe in what I believe; but he is definitely "spiritual" and believes in a higher power of some kind. If he was an atheist; then I believe he would choose other words to describe the work.
It seems Gates is more of an agnostic. In this interview; he said this: And his political views are more libertarian too. Here is a list of his political contributions. This guy gates sounds a lot like Denny!
I just don't agree. I think he is someone who wants to share the praise with those who are actually no the ground and doing the work. Those people, like most people in the world, are religious. By using that term you are patting them on the back and maki g sure they know they are appreciated. But the truth is, we don't know. All I said was that Penn Jilette said Gates was an Atheist and a Libretarian. I am not a Libretarian, but that's did not matter, I was just repeating what someone else said. You may feel that he is like you, I may feel that he is like me. Neither of us know him. We have not read an answer from him regarding belief in god. With our current information, the correct answer is unknown.
Once again, this goes back to your definition of atheist as being different than my definition. I would echo exactly what gates said, but I don't believe there is a god. If you use your definition to define something then confusion will arise.
