Charity Doesn't Begin at Home

What's going on? Bill Gates, America's richest man, glides out of Microsoft to devote more time for his foundation. Warren Buffett, who's #2 richie, leaves his kids and friends just $5 billion out of his $42 billion legacy. And Sandy Weill, hard-nosed former CEO of Citibank, is going $1.4 to charity as part of his "deal with God."

Is it possible that some guys know when enough is enough?

I traveled with Bono a few years ago, and, at a late night dinner, was seated with one of Buffett's kids. She was not spewing investive against the old man. She was listening attentively to Bono, who is a pal to both Gates and her father. (Weill is a Jew, and, perhaps, not so susceptible to Bono's wonderful blarney.)

Everyone is so agog with the magnitude of this giving that poor Bono has been left out of the conversation, but I give a lot of credit to the self-appointed rock messiah. Sure, Buffett always said he wasn't leaving "much" to his kids and that inherited money is a bad thing (see above), but he also said he wasn't going to talk about this. Now everybody knows how much he's giving--and that the Gates Foundation will get the lion's share.

The Gates Foundation, you will recall, does God's work in Africa, where centuries of exploitation have had a predictable and debilitating effect. So fat, that foundation has spent $6 billion on healthcare projects, mostly in Africa. With the Buffett money, it can do much more.

It may be worth noting that George Bush's generous pledge to Bono's Africa initiative--about $15 billion--has, so far, been just that: a pledge. Now, in one swoop, a couple of private citizens have probably given much more than Bush will ever be good for.

It's too much to hope that others will follow this example. But after you've got the Bombadier jet and the 200-foot boat, maybe your views change. Ken Lay's didn't--he and the missus had 10 houses in Aspen alone. But he's going to jail. Now that's a deal with God!