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Sometime
last year in 2006, there were two pieces of good news that
may have gone unnoticed, but which greatly benefited the
poor people of the world. And it is not about what the
world’s richest nations have decided to do to help the
situation on global poverty. Rather, it is about the
personal philanthropy of the two richest men in the world:
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.
Gates,
chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft,
announced in June last year that he would retire in July
2008 to devote his time to the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation where he and his wife gave a personal donation
of $29 billion. In 2006 Bill and Melinda Gates were chosen
by Time magazine as the Persons of the Year (together with
their good friend Bono) for their work in improving public
health and education, especially in poor countries around
the world.
The other
good news is about Buffet, the world’s second-richest man
and good friend of the Gates, who announced in late June
last year that he is donating 85 percent of his personal
wealth estimated at $44 billion to charity. Dubbed as the
“Oracle of Omaha,” Buffet has astutely invested billions
of dollars and made a fortune through his company
Berkshire Hathaway.
Out of
Buffet’s total donation estimated at more than $37
billion, more than 83 percent, or about $31 billion, will
go to the Gates foundation. Buffet’s first annual gift to
the foundation made last year was $1.5 billion so it can
increase its spending.
What is
truly amazing is Buffet’s attitude toward the wealth he
has accumulated. As the New York Times noted, “Warren
Buffet never seriously considered doing anything with his
$44-billion fortune except giving it all away!” The
newspaper also noted that Buffet is just as known for his
“outspoken detachment from the usual habits and
pretensions of the super-rich as for his spectacular
financial success and folksy, astute financial advice.”
The
grandson of a grocer and son of a stockbroker and
congressman has “never made any secret of his distaste for
inherited wealth and has often said that he has no
intentions of making megaheirs and heiresses of his
children,” the Times continued. Well, it looks like Buffet
is certainly correct. Just look at the hotel-heiress Paris
Hilton.
According
to Buffet, his children were not disappointed that they
did not receive the “lion’s share” of their father’s
fortune. “They’ve known all along my views on inherited
wealth and share them. They have money that most people
would [only] dream of. They’re lucky, in that respect,
when they selected their parents.”
Apparently, Buffet drew inspiration from famous
philanthropists like Andrew Carnegie and J. Paul Getty,
who have their place in American history. He said during
the function at the New York Public Library that he hopes
that his example would inspire other wealthy people to
give generously as well and made reference several times
to another great American philanthropist, John D.
Rockefeller Sr. “ I would hope that a few of them
[superrich] would pick up on this model. I think it’s a
sensible model,” he said.
In the
Philippines, the example set by Buffet must have indeed
inspired others like John Gokongwei. On the occasion of
his 80th birthday, Gokongwei announced that he will also
give to charity half of his total wealth amounting to
several billion pesos through his family’s foundation.
However, nothing has been heard of Gokongwei’s personal
philanthropy since the announcement was made late last
year.
Still, the
taipan, whose fortune is probably the most diversified
from real estate and airlines to petrochemicals and sugar
mills, has made his mark when he donated several hundred
million pesos more than five years ago to set up the John
Gokongwei School of Business at the Ateneo de Manila
University. Gokongwei also gave an inspiring commencement
speech in Ateneo that was widely circulated on the
Internet.
Other
billionaire taipans in the country have established their
own corporate foundations for their philanthropy. Henry Sy
Sr., the richest man in the Philippines according to
Forbes magazine), has his own SM Foundation which uses his
malls as drop-off points for people donating books, old
clothes and waste products. In return, donors receive some
coupon gifts from his SM stores. SM Foundation also has a
joint project with IBM Philippines that set up the Asia
and Pacific College located in Makati at the back of South
Luzon Expressway at
Magallanes
Village.
Another
taipan who is supposed to be doing some good work to
society through a foundation named after his mother is
Lucio Tan of Philippine Airlines, Philippine National
Bank, Tanduay and Asia Brewery fame. Tan, who started his
fortune from the tobacco business, is said to have
done—and still doing—a lot of charitable work, but also
prefers to keep a low profile by not publicizing them.
Among all
the taipans, it is George Ty who seems to be the most
serious when it comes to helping the different sectors of
society through his Metrobank Foundation. This conclusion
is based on the actual total contributions Ty has given
and the number of projects that the foundation has
undertaken. The Metrobank Foundation has made a name for
itself over the past 10 years with its annual awards for
outstanding teachers, policemen and soldiers of the
country. Likewise, Metrobank’s College Scholarship Program
has benefited hundreds of financially disadvantaged but
deserving students who were given college education in the
“very best schools” in the country.
The
Metrobank Foundation probably has the biggest funding
among all the other corporate foundations with close to P2
billion worth of Metrobank shares and cash that Ty has
donated to his foundation. This explains why it can
venture in other endeavors such as supporting the arts to
appreciate our cultural heritage. The Metrobank Arts and
Design Excellence (MADE) recognizes the talents of
Filipino artists through its art and design competitions.
What started as a competition among young painters in the
past has now included sculptors, architects and interior
designers.
A pioneer
in the corporate philanthropy before the taipans reached
their affluence is Ayala Foundation of the Zobel family
that was previously known as the Filipinas Foundation.
Throughout the past two decades, the foundation of the
Zobels has been involved in a myriad of projects around
the country. But the most prominent has been Ayala’s
“social initiatives” of the “3Es”—Education, Environment
and Entrepreneurship—notably its Center for Excellence in
Public Elementary Education.
Speaking
of the Zobels, there is a low-key foundation of a relative
that has operations in the country and
Hawaii
that seeks to improve the quality of life of disadvantaged
children, women and families. The Consuelo Zobel Alger
Foundation is named after Consuelo Zobel, the sister of
Mercedes Zobel MacMaking, who married an American West
Point graduate (Alger) stationed in the Philippines who
later retired as a three-star general. What is exemplary
is that Consuelo bequeathed her entire estate to the
foundation as her legacy to help the marginalized people.
The earnings of the hefty trust fund finance the
foundation’s projects and administrative expenses. The
foundation has its office for Philippine operations at
Citibank
Towers
in Makati, while its main headquarters is based in
Hawaii where the Zobel-Alger couple retired in the ’70s.
From the
Chinese-Filipino taipans to the Hispanic Zobels, we can
now proceed to the philanthropy of a Malay-Filipino in the
person of Manuel V. Pangilinan coursed through the PLDT
Foundation (now renamed as PLDT-Smart Foundation) and his
personal donations. Well, Pangilinan is acknowledged as a
patron of sports: Badminton, basketball—and now boxing! He
is also the single biggest contributor to the Ateneo Blue
Eagles in the UAAP and the San Beda Red Lions in the NCAA.
Pangilinan finished high school in San Beda and college at
Ateneo de Manila.
Pangilinan
is known to certain circles of having made contributions
to many other worthy causes, but they are not publicized.
So far, the only one that came out in the newspapers in
September of 2005 is his personal donation of P50 million
to build the Manuel V. Pangilinan Center for Student
Leadership at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon
City. The 4.5-story edifice being erected will replace the
old Colayco Hall that used to house the 39 student
organizations on the Ateneo campus. Pangilinan is said to
passionately believe in developing the country’s future
leaders.
I
personally find it pleasing to read when a successful
business executive like Pangilinan returns something back
to society. Just like what Buffet said when he announced
the “distribution of his wealth to society,” we can only
hope that these examples would inspire others to give
generously as well to alleviate poverty in our broken
land. It is only when we start giving as a people—instead
of taking—that the future of our country will become
better. |
