Are Gates and Buffett wrong?

Thu, 18 Nov Pre-Open

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Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are two of the world's richest men. They are so rich that if their wealth is combined, it could easily overtake GDP of a significant number of countries.

However, their wealth is not the only thing that is common between them. Both of them also share a deep love for charity. In fact, they have already pledged a significant portion of their wealth for philanthropic purposes.

But they are far from being content with this. In recent months, they have taken upon themselves the task of imploring fellow billionaires to join in their noble cause. In other words, just as they have done, they want other billionaires across the world to donate handsomely as well.

We have no doubt about the intellectual capacity of the two gentlemen. Both of them are indeed titans of their respective fields. However, this most recent act of theirs has certainly raised some pertinent questions.

A few experts are of the opinion that Gates and Buffett may not be doing humanity a big favour by donating to charity. Rather than doing philanthropy, mankind will be better served if both these gentlemen use their wealth in creating more jobs.

One such opposition has come from none other than the man who's been giving both Buffett and Gates a run for their wealth in recent times. We are indeed referring to the Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim. As per the WSJ, Mr. Slim's signature could indeed be missing from the list that Buffett and Gates might have drawn up for potential billionaire donors.

"The only way to fight poverty is with employment. Trillions of dollars have been given to charity in the last 50 years, and they don't solve anything," Mr. Slim is believed to have said.

There may be a grain of truth in what Mr. Slim has said. Indeed, if doing charity would have solved problems, then perhaps Africa would have been the richest continent on earth as it has received the maximum amount of charity. But even after years of charitable infusions, the continent remains as poor as ever.

Thus, as the saying goes, "Feed a man a fish and you feed him for a day but teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Mr Slim seem to be narrating the modern day version of the same.

We certainly do not know the exact nature of the charity that Gates and Buffett could be indulging in. But it is also our belief that money spent towards creating more jobs could indeed be money better spent than just giving it away in charity.