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Mr Play wrote:

Sam wrote:I never said it would solve "all of the World's problems" did I?
Think about how many charities could use that $1 MILLION out of $1.5 BILLION. How many charities right here in America could and would benefit. That is over 999,999,999, plus another roughly 499,999,999 (or so) charities that could recieve $1 MILLION. That is just from one set ammount of $1.5 BILLION......

How many PHCs out there could use the money for their causes? Rather than a few hundred dollars raised here and there?

The infusion of that money into American charities and helping to employ people right here in America, and make them self sufficent and allow them to contribute to society, would allow them to contribute more in the long run.

But not all of them are well-managed - like it or not, corruption is everywhere. Buffett is leaving it up to the Gates foundation to find the charities worthy of his support. That's where the trust factor comes into play.

True enough..............I have my own doubts about Bill Gates but that is neither here nor there.........Especially when it comes to this kind of money being spent over seas......

One only need take a quick look at some of the overseas charities and the UN....remember a few years ago ...( I think it was UNICEF) and the corruption that was going on? While Warren Buffett may believe in Bill Gates and the Foundation....Maybe Bill Gates and his Foundation are as Honest as the all day long, and maybe they are not,.... but not everyone involved is going to be and they all want a piece of it....there is always more where it came from.........

There are thousands of worthwhile charities, both here and abroad. Anyone choosing to make any sort of charitable donation must make the decision of where to give their money-none of us can support everything.

The Gates Foundation has zeroed in on a few key areas and that is where they devote their money, time and attention, hoping to have a significant impact of those few areas.

I would encourage you to read the philosophy and disbursement information on the foundations's website: www.gatesfoundation.org.

ejr wrote:There are thousands of worthwhile charities, both here and abroad. Anyone choosing to make any sort of charitable donation must make the decision of where to give their money-none of us can support everything.

The Gates Foundation has zeroed in on a few key areas and that is where they devote their money, time and attention, hoping to have a significant impact of those few areas.

I would encourage you to read the philosophy and disbursement information on the foundations's website: www.gatesfoundation.org.

Then they can well affordto put their money where their mouth is.....
If we are to believe the TV commercials for around $1.00 a day, a child in Africa, or most anywhere, but here in North America, can be clothed, fed, educated, and recieve whatever sort of medical care...... Bill Gates has how much money? How much has he donated?

Charity begins at home.......Take care our own people that are in need first. Then take care of others.

Sam wrote:I used the miltary as an example. They are not the only ones to do so.

Whose to say what the Gates Foundation will or won't do?
My point is if Gates is so giving, why hasn't he given more? He does not need Warren Buffett's money to fund his personal charities. He could fund it himself, and never miss a dime.
The Gates only remain in charge as long as both them are alive.....THEN what happens to the money? anyone checked? ANyone want to check on the 5 charities and see what the annual dispusrement is?

My understanding of the article was that Warren BUFFETT was donating to 5 different charities. with the majority going to Gates favorite charity. yes it it is important to cotrol the money and spend it wisely.......but not to force people to spend it on new office equipment or whatever.at the end of the year because they must show a ZERO balance at thr end of the year.

It comes down to trust. Warren Buffett trusts Bill Gates to manage his money wisely. Gates has a track record - he's a proven performer, and Buffett believes he'll keep performing. I don't know what else to tell you there.

The Gates Foundation is cited as the world's leading philanthropic organization, but's that not good enough - you want Bill Gates to prove his sincerity by giving more? Where do you draw that line - as a percentage of your income, how much did you give to charity last year?

I'm not sure what happens at the end of the Gates Foundation donations. I assume the money would be split among the other foundations. You can read more about how the donations are distributed here;
http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/25/magazin ... /index.htm

Once again, the Gates Foundation has very specific areas of interest:

U.S. Programs
Education
Libraries
Pacific Northwest

Global Health

Global Development

And once again, if you look at their disbursements, much of the money stays in the US.

Perhaps the Gates Foundation does not make the decisions that you would choose to make, but Warren Buffett is comfortable with their decisions, and has chosen to turn this over to the foundation to manage and that is his right.

And Mr Buffett does give money elsewhere.

Sam wrote:My understanding of the article was that Warren BUFFETT was donating to 5 different charities. with the majority going to Gates favorite charity.

The money goes to the foundation, which distributes the money to many different causes. Ejr posted a link to the foundation's grants dating back to 1994. The money isn't going to any single charity.

Mr Play wrote:

Sam wrote:My understanding of the article was that Warren BUFFETT was donating to 5 different charities. with the majority going to Gates favorite charity.

The money goes to the foundation, which distributes the money to many different causes. Ejr posted a link to the foundation's grants dating back to 1994. The money isn't going to any single charity.

You can also read up on what they have done to protect the integrity of their work. And, their complete financial statements are available as well.

Here's a copy of the letter from Warren Buffett to Bill Gates regarding the donation;
http://berkshirehathaway.com/donate/bmgfltr.pdf

And here's a link to the other letters from the man himself;
http://berkshirehathaway.com/donate/webdonat.html

Mr Play wrote:

Sam wrote:I used the miltary as an example. They are not the only ones to do so.

Whose to say what the Gates Foundation will or won't do?
My point is if Gates is so giving, why hasn't he given more? He does not need Warren Buffett's money to fund his personal charities. He could fund it himself, and never miss a dime.
The Gates only remain in charge as long as both them are alive.....THEN what happens to the money? anyone checked? ANyone want to check on the 5 charities and see what the annual dispusrement is?

My understanding of the article was that Warren BUFFETT was donating to 5 different charities. with the majority going to Gates favorite charity. yes it it is important to cotrol the money and spend it wisely.......but not to force people to spend it on new office equipment or whatever.at the end of the year because they must show a ZERO balance at thr end of the year.

It comes down to trust. Warren Buffett trusts Bill Gates to manage his money wisely. Gates has a track record - he's a proven performer, and Buffett believes he'll keep performing. I don't know what else to tell you there.

The Gates Foundation is cited as the world's leading philanthropic organization, but's that not good enough - you want Bill Gates to prove his sincerity by giving more? Where do you draw that line - as a percentage of your income, how much did you give to charity last year?

I'm not sure what happens at the end of the Gates Foundation donations. I assume the money would be split among the other foundations. You can read more about how the donations are distributed here;
http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/25/magazin ... /index.htm

No you misinterpret.
I am saying for every $1 BILLION Warren Buffet has donated to the Gates Foundation...Gates could at least match him half.

How much has Gates personally donated to the charity out of his own pocket and how much has he raised from/through other sources and events?

I am saying one more time and I willl type it nice and S-L-O-W.... Charity begins at home....or are you saying we should not help needy Americans get back on their feet? Or make sure American children and adults or anyone in this country go to sleep hungry? Or DAVs needing accomadations made for them in their houses? How many people could be educated and start a business? (albeit a small business or some factory could be financed and remade to produce whatever product and put people to work?

I never said money ewas the answer to all of the Worlds problems but we have more than enough needy people right here at home that the money could be spent on helping.

You asked me something about finding a cure for cancer or HIV earlier. Yes I believe we must find a cure ,( if we don't already have one). The thing is look at how many people are employed in the research and what not. Doctors can cure certain types of cancer that they could not do 10 years ago, for example. How many people and how much money is involved in cancer research each year? My Dad had lung cancer and stomach cancer. He was cured of the lung cancer, some years ago. My Dad went through Operation Crossroads: Test shots Able and Baker.
Advancements are being made nearly every day. When AIDS first came out people were DEMANDING the same amount of money for reseach that it took cancer researchers roughly 20 years to get.
Now think about the money that is involved in all of that research. I have read documentation in the past of various things on going in some labs.
No that does not mean every lab or research person is doing such. Yet consider the money and the job security of it.

However I do firmly believe we need to help America and Americans FIRST. What is wrong with that?

I have plainly said before I don't know if Bill Gates is a good guy, maybe he is ......maybe he is not.... Has anyone found out how much he has donated from his own funds, or recieves from the Gates Foundation?

He still owns something like 9% or so of MS stock and remains sthe single largest shareholder, according to something I read earlier today.

All I care about is seeing helped here and for $1.5 BILLION a year....A LOT of people could be helped in numerous different ways.

Sam wrote:No you misinterpret.
I am saying for every $1 BILLION Warren Buffet has donated to the Gates Foundation...Gates could at least match him half.

How much has Gates personally donated to the charity out of his own pocket and how much has he raised from/through other sources and events?

Gates has donated $26 Billion in gifts to the foundation. His current worth is estimated at $50 Billion. He has also said that his plan is to donate the bulk of his fortune to charity before he dies. He's only 50 now - give him some time.

Sam wrote:Charity begins at home....or are you saying we should not help needy Americans get back on their feet? Or make sure American children and adults or anyone in this country go to sleep hungry? Or DAVs needing accomadations made for them in their houses? How many people could be educated and start a business? (albeit a small business or some factory could be financed and remade to produce whatever product and put people to work?

I never said money ewas the answer to all of the Worlds problems but we have more than enough needy people right here at home that the money could be spent on helping.

Ejr provided a link to a listing of the grant history for the Gates Foundation. A lot of the donations are for domestic causes. Here it is again;
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Grants/

Sam wrote:You asked me something about finding a cure for cancer or HIV earlier. Yes I believe we must find a cure ,( if we don't already have one). The thing is look at how many people are employed in the research and what not. Doctors can cure certain types of cancer that they could not do 10 years ago, for example. How many people and how much money is involved in cancer research each year? My Dad had lung cancer and stomach cancer. He was cured of the lung cancer, some years ago. My Dad went through Operation Crossroads: Test shots Able and Baker.
Advancements are being made nearly every day. When AIDS first came out people were DEMANDING the same amount of money for reseach that it took cancer researchers roughly 20 years to get.
Now think about the money that is involved in all of that research. I have read documentation in the past of various things on going in some labs.
No that does not mean every lab or research person is doing such. Yet consider the money and the job security of it.

Diseases get cured, and we move on to other diseases. There will still be jobs in the medical industry.

Sam wrote:I have plainly said before I don't know if Bill Gates is a good guy, maybe he is ......maybe he is not.... Has anyone found out how much he has donated from his own funds, or recieves from the Gates Foundation?

Here's a link to all of their annual financial reports dating back to 1998;
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/AboutUs/ ... alReports/

Moonie wrote:How much of the money will actually end up benefiting those that really need the money...

Administrative costs can easily use up to 90% of donations, and no one will ever know the difference...unless they investigate ...happens all the time..

From the Gates Foundation 2005 report;
Grants......................................................1,566,809,000.................Percentage of Grant Amount
Direct charitable expenses.......................37,921,000......................2.4%
Program and administrative expenses......92,042,000......................5.9%

Mr Play wrote:

Sam wrote:No you misinterpret.
I am saying for every $1 BILLION Warren Buffet has donated to the Gates Foundation...Gates could at least match him half.

How much has Gates personally donated to the charity out of his own pocket and how much has he raised from/through other sources and events?

Gates has donated $26 Billion in gifts to the foundation. His current worth is estimated at $50 Billion. He has also said that his plan is to donate the bulk of his fortune to charity before he dies. He's only 50 now - give him some time.

Okies so many Billions of that went to charities right here in the US? A library in Palm Beach got a small ammount? Palm Beach with all the millionaires there needs charity help??? How many documentaries have been made about the millionaires there?

Tell me if JUST $10 BILLION of those dollars were donated to be spent on the NEEDY RIGHT here in America .....how many people would be helped?

Let's see you say/show figures that Gates has donated $26 BILLION and Warren Buffett is donating $37 BILLION ( leaving Gates with $50 BILLION and Warren Buffett with around $7 BILLION) let's see simple math says $26,000,000,000 + $37,000,000,000 = $63,000,000,000. Okies again spending just $10,000,000,000 right here on needy people how much would that accomplish and would leave $53,000,000,000 without any interest accrued, for other charities around the world.

I would like to see more spent, but I think thaqt $10,000,000,000 is a good figure to spend on needy people and I am not talking about things for the uppercrust. I am talking the lower class of our society.
For those that need a calulator, Windows has one built in....

Is something wrong with that? I am talking about helping people that are trully needy. Why is my point of view so wrong?

I have never denied and have openly admitted it is a great thing to give to charity. Care to disagree??

I said it was wonderful that both men do give to charity!
Any disagreement with that?

I do believe in helping the people here in America that need it most, before helping others elsewhere.
Is something wrong with that?

I am concerned about the way money is distrubted or dispursed.
Is something wrong with that? It is none of my concern or your concern? Why isn't it? Perhaps it may affect a charity in my area or your area.

Maybe the money will go or went to National Endowment of the Arts. That will really feed a lot of hungry people won't it?
There are many things the money could do to help American Citizens RIGHT HERE IN AMERICA. Is something wrong with that?

If my and others positions are so wrong then I will concede that all of you defending the position you have taken, have the Right to believe it and to defend it, no doubt you are Right in your beliefs, however, that does not make it Right to OUR citizens in need, does it?
Is something wrong with that?

Sure it is both their moneys.....how do they repay the Nation and WE THE PEOPLE??? By supporting people in other countries........?

We need to help people up......not help them out. We can start right here at home.
Now WHAT is wrong with that???

Mr Play wrote:

Sam wrote:Charity begins at home....or are you saying we should not help needy Americans get back on their feet? Or make sure American children and adults or anyone in this country go to sleep hungry? Or DAVs needing accomadations made for them in their houses? How many people could be educated and start a business? (albeit a small business or some factory could be financed and remade to produce whatever product and put people to work?

I never said money ewas the answer to all of the Worlds problems but we have more than enough needy people right here at home that the money could be spent on helping.

Ejr provided a link to a listing of the grant history for the Gates Foundation. A lot of the donations are for domestic causes. Here it is again;
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Grants/

Sam wrote:You asked me something about finding a cure for cancer or HIV earlier. Yes I believe we must find a cure ,( if we don't already have one). The thing is look at how many people are employed in the research and what not. Doctors can cure certain types of cancer that they could not do 10 years ago, for example. How many people and how much money is involved in cancer research each year? My Dad had lung cancer and stomach cancer. He was cured of the lung cancer, some years ago. My Dad went through Operation Crossroads: Test shots Able and Baker.
Advancements are being made nearly every day. When AIDS first came out people were DEMANDING the same amount of money for reseach that it took cancer researchers roughly 20 years to get.
Now think about the money that is involved in all of that research. I have read documentation in the past of various things on going in some labs.
No that does not mean every lab or research person is doing such. Yet consider the money and the job security of it.

Diseases get cured, and we move on to other diseases. There will still be jobs in the medical industry.

Tell me what other disease has generated as much money as cancer or HIV? Any idea of how much is raised and spent in one year alone for research?
I don't think Polio ever got close to todays dollars........nor Small Pox.
What disease will take their place ? Perhaps the bird Flu? Something far more deadly?
Even Ebola the most deadliest virus known to humans in it;s most virulent strain, kills one in ten, but it's outbreaks are rather shortlived and it burns itself out rather quickly. Perhaps research for some homemade bug created by a terrorist somewhere? It took cancer 20 y0 YEARS to get the ammount of money when HIV/AIDS was discovered. So some miracle bug will come along and keep all of these people employed? All the money being raised will just be given over to "the independent labs" leeping the people employed???

Sam - maybe you should put together a grant request to the Gates Foundation for some charities of your choice.
The money is there for the asking.

And it isn't just for libraries and global concerns. Here are a couple of examples from the 2006 grants list.

February 10, 2006
United Way of America
Alexandria, VA
$10,000,000 over 2 years to support human services for children and families on a national basis

April 24, 2006
United Way of Pierce County
Tacoma, WA
$1,000,000 over 2 years to support an expanded community safety net, affordable housing, and supportive services

Even Ebola the most deadliest virus known to humans in it;s most virulent strain, kills one in ten,

nine in ten. which is why it burns itself out so quickly. At least it has at this point because it hasn't gotten loose in a major population center with a major airport hub.

fins4yogi wrote:He is waking away.

The man's 75 years old. If I had the kind of money he has I would have walked away a long time ago.

Sam wrote:I am quite sure of mine and how I feel , just as Yogi is.
No one has of yet told me if they have figured out how much $1.5 BILLION
a year breaks down to every day.

It comes to a little over $4 million/day. There are tens of millions of people worldwide living in poverty. In the grand scheme of things, that's chump change.

Sam wrote:Warren Buffett agreed to donate $37 BILLION dollars to charity at a rate of roughly $1.5 BILLION a year. Every year that $1.5 BILLION must be spent.So if it is not spent it must wasted.

I don't give a snadgnat's fart in a hurricane what he does with his money. MY OPINION is it could be better spent here at "home".

Obviously, Warren's opinion is different.

Sam wrote:Bill Gates has how much money and how much can he contribute or get donations from for elsewhere for his cause? How much have he and his wife donated personally to such cause (s)

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to various charities since it was established. The foundation was established with donations from BILL GATES' PERSONAL WEALTH. That's how much he and his wife have donated personally.

Sam wrote:But I mantain the right to say there people RIGHT HERE IN AMERICA that need help MORE. No wonder we are failing as a country when people no longer care about our own.... meaning Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Bill Gates donated $58 million to help build schools in NYC. I seriously doubt that in the 12 years (I think) since the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was established that's the only donation he's ever made in the United States.

Sam wrote:Thank you Mr. W. Buffett and Bill Gates for letting us know who and what you really care about.

Both of you are really making a difference....but to whom is the question!

Since you're so good at telling other people what they should do with their money, what have you done to make a difference? Besides ranting on Buffett News.