Who is the Wealthiest Giver?
It’s almost ubiquitous. Every week or every few weeks there is a release of the current list of the wealthiest people in the world – or least an article about how someone “new” is now the wealthiest person in the world --- or even possibly a bulletin that someone jumped the former wealthiest person in the world. This happens literally almost weekly.
This is why I’m so appreciative to Forbes. Forbes has led the effort for many decades on identifying some of the wealthiest people on our planet. But this year, they put a different slant on it. And I appreciate their deeper thinking.
For the first time, Forbes created a philanthropic ranking. They based their rankings on how the 400 billionaires that are identified by the publication have given away their money. And they were specific. It was money actually out of their control. Not a pledge. Not an estate gift intention. Money that they’ve actually donated to nonprofits. Leading the list was Omaha’s Warren Buffett. He has personally donated more than $40 billion of his fortune to nonprofits. And ironically, still is worth some $70 billion.
On the flipside, there was a lot of commentary in the ranking system, which was from 1 to 5, about those at the bottom of the list. Jeff Bezos and the Walton heirs have given away less than 1% of their overall wealth. Ironically, Oprah Winfrey has given away less than 5% of her wealth. And Ted Turner has given away more than 20% of his wealth, earning a perfect score of a five out of five.
To me, this is such a better list than just who has money. At dinner every night, when I say the blessing with my family before our meal, I pray for us to “appreciate the blessings of our lives and most importantly share these blessing with those who are not as fortunate.” I truly believe that Winston Churchill was correct when he said, “we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Shouldn’t we be more interested in those that share their wealth and are trying to make a difference in the world? Isn’t that the list that really describes who’s the wealthiest? In this case, wealth being defined as one’s willingness to help others rather than just a number in their bank statement.
