Modern Day Philanthropy

I read about Warren Buffett and how he plans to give 99% of his wealth to philanthropic foundations. This idea of the wealthiest people in America giving their money away to charity reminds me of "The Gospel of Wealth", which was written by Andrew Carnegie. In "The Gospel of Wealth", Carnegie has a list of seven things that the wealthiest Americans should do with their money in order to help the common good. Carnegie believed that the wealthy should fund universities, and give money to create or to fund public schools, libraries, hospitals, medical schools, parks, recreational places, meeting halls, auditoriums, swimming pools, and places of worship. The modern day Carnegies are people like Warren Buffett, who have tons of money, and plan to give that money to better the community and the overall world. Buffett also reminds me of Carnegie, because of his approach to wealth. Buffett says, "My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest." The belief of social Darwinism comes to mind when Buffett says that genes are a part of his success. The idea of social Darwinism was believed by Carnegie, and is still believed today by people as wealthy as Carnegie, such as Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett also said, "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." Buffett shows his desire to spend money on the community, and illustrates how he will do so. I believe that Buffett’s contribution is economically enough money for anyone to give, but I think Buffett could do more by donating his time. He said in his letter, "Moreover, this pledge does not leave me contributing the most precious asset, which is time." I believe that people like Buffett do give a lot to those who have less, and to organizations, but I feel that Buffett could also volunteer his time, which I believe is more important than any sum of money, even if it is 99% of Buffett’s income.