Gauging the Buffett contribution to the Gates Foundation

James Moore: “But to put these amounts in perspective, the US taxpayers have spent–not invested, but spent–like drawing money from your ATM–about $320B on the Iraq war This is ten times the total amount that the Gates Foundation has in TOTAL ASSETS, and thus vastly more per year than the foundation spends in its work on behalf of the poor. The amount spent–spent–on the Iraq war could have ENDOWED ten Gates Foundations.”

Greg Mankiw: “In other words, success in the Doha round of international trade talks would give the world more every year than what Buffett can give once after a lifetime of being the world’s most successful investor.”

That said, Buffett’s great philanthropic act will be of enormous global benefit. Since its start, the Gates Foundation has proved a particularly wise and innovative organization, addressing some of the world’s most intractable issues.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *