Time.... as he states is the only thing that you can not take back. It is the only true non-renewable resource for every living thing in this universe. The overall encompassing truth for all human beings that have ever existed is that everyone is born and everyone eventually dies. We cannot rewrite our own history. The pen is alive only at the present moment. You can only write your destiny now. If you've lived through your teenage years you can never take them back and relive them. If you're done with your twenties you can not take them back and rewrite them. If you are living through your thirties, every second you live you can not take back. So every second of existence then can be viewed as a gift. Since the first breath of life was not given to us by our own choice. There was no merit involved there, as life in all living things was a gift of something that we can not see. Even though we think we can plan for the future, we can not. Because the future is uncertain to us ....
...If every rich person that ever lived made up one compound of steel, and when all compounds added all up took the shape of a needle, it would came to pass that there would come into existence, a certain camel born in the dry wasteland of human moral emptiness that would eventually pass through the eye of this needle. ...
Who would ever begin to understand the greatness of your goodness? .... as who has ever in the history of humanity became one of the richest men to have ever lived and then gave all that wealth away back to humanity before he passed and not even thinking he has done a good deed? It is a blessing to live through the tail end of your existence and realize that there actually exists true goodness in a human being. Your existence in and of itself has given and continues to give hope to mine....
My Philanthropic Pledge
Warren Buffett
In 2006, I made a commitment to gradually give all of my Berkshire Hathaway stock to
philanthropic foundations. I couldn't be happier with that decision.
Now, Bill and Melinda Gates and I are asking hundreds of rich Americans to pledge at least 50%
of their wealth to charity. So I think it is fitting that I reiterate my intentions and explain the
thinking that lies behind them.
First, my pledge: More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at
death. Measured by dollars, this commitment is large. In a comparative sense, though, many
individuals give more to others every day.
Millions of people who regularly contribute to churches, schools, and other organizations thereby
relinquish the use of funds that would otherwise benefit their own families. The dollars these
people drop into a collection plate or give to United Way mean forgone movies, dinners out, or
other personal pleasures. In contrast, my family and I will give up nothing we need or want by
fulfilling this 99% pledge.
Moreover, this pledge does not leave me contributing the most precious asset, which is time.
Many people, including -- I'm proud to say -- my three children, give extensively of their own
time and talents to help others. Gifts of this kind often prove far more valuable than money. A
struggling child, befriended and nurtured by a caring mentor, receives a gift whose value far
exceeds what can be bestowed by a check. My sister, Doris, extends significant person-to-person
help daily. I've done little of this.
What I can do, however, is to take a pile of Berkshire Hathaway stock certificates -- "claim
checks" that when converted to cash can command far-ranging resources -- and commit them to
benefit others who, through the luck of the draw, have received the short straws in life. To date
about 20% of my shares have been distributed (including shares given by my late wife, Susan
Buffett). I will continue to annually distribute about 4% of the shares I retain. At the latest, the
proceeds from all of my Berkshire shares will be expended for philanthropic purposes by 10
years after my estate is settled. Nothing will go to endowments; I want the money spent on
current needs.
This pledge will leave my lifestyle untouched and that of my children as well. They have already
received significant sums for their personal use and will receive more in the future. They live
comfortable and productive lives. And I will continue to live in a manner that gives me
everything that I could possibly want in life.
Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an
expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast
collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health,
is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.
My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound
interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds
against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white
also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.)
My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted
results, though overall it serves our country well. I've worked in an economy that rewards
someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with
thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with
sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate's distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.
The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather
gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness
nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on
the health and welfare of others. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep
all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us
down that course.
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