Bill Gates Sets a Standard of Philanthropy

"I believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility, a responsibility to give back to society and a responsibility to see that those resources are put to work in the best way possible to help those most in need," states Bill Gates in A New Era of Technical Leadership at Microsoft. Bill Gates is a venture capitalist, author, humanitarian, and the founder of Microsoft. Gates best represents philanthropy because he is one of the most generous donors to date, he successfully challenges his peers to be more charitable, and his foundation is well-known and accessible.

Bill Gates is incomparable to other philanthropists because he motivates others to be benevolent. He is one of the founders of Microsoft, a technology company started in 1975 which is best known for Windows Software, computers, and electronics. In 1986 Microsoft became a public company, and made 12,000 Microsoft employees into millionaires. In 2000, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda formed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. According to Forbes magazine, "Bill Gates’ net worth is over $92 million and his lifetime donations are over $35 billion." Currently, he is the world’s second wealthiest individual so you might assume that he has donated the most because he has the most. But if you look at the percentage of his wealth he has donated to charity, you will find that percentage much higher than other billionaires. Bill Gates has set a new standard for giving, and has inspired others to take action to support charities they believe in to make the world a better place.

Gates best portrays philanthropy by challenging his peers to be more altruistic. Along with Warren Buffet, Bill and Melinda Gates started the Giving Pledge in 2010. The mission of the Giving Pledge is to get the world’s wealthiest families and individuals to make a commitment to philanthropy by dedicating the majority (more than half of their wealth) to giving back during their lifetime or in their wills. Currently, they have 184 pledgers from 22 different countries. The charities the individuals in the Giving Pledge support are poverty relief, education advancement, medical and healthcare research, economic development, and entrepreneur encouragement. The members of the Giving Pledge primarily consist of entrepreneurs in technology, finance, and oil, while noticeably absent are famous athletes, actors/ actresses, and top singers. "The Giving Pledge hopes to help shift the social norms of philanthropy toward giving more, giving sooner, and giving smarter,"states The Giving Pledge "Press Release." It is people like Bill Gates that help increase the amount of charitable donators and donations.

Finally, Gates best embodies philanthropy by making his foundation prominent and accessible. Many other foundations exist, but the average person doesn’t hear about them or know their purpose, hindering organizations from attaining applicants and money needed to thrive. The publicity The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gets makes charity more accessible for more people than ever before. Many people know the name of the foundation, the website is easy to understand, and they get a lot of attention in the media, inviting high rates of investors.

Bill Gates best represents philanthropy because his generosity is remarkable. By donating millions of dollars to probable causes, providing an example of a selfless entrepreneur, and making donating a feasible process, Gates is an impeccable example of a philanthropist. Whether you are a billionaire or average person, Bill Gates legacy challenges us to all to be innovative and do what we can to make the world a better place.

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