Melinda Gates (the wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates) recently gave a talk about the future of social enterprise at an event organized by the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative. Here are some of the highlights from the article:
- According to a recent study, people who spend money on others are happier than people who spend it on themselves. So, in theory we can buy happiness with money. We just buy happiness by spending our money on other people in ways that make a meaningful difference. By this standard, Melinda Gates might be one of the happiest people on earth (exaggeration intended to make point). Since 2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $16.3 billion in grants to programs that range from global health and development initiatives and the U.S. educational system. It currently oversees an endowment of roughly $38 billion. Its assets include a gift by billionaire Warren Buffet, who in 2006 announced he would bestow the majority of his fortune, in annual installments, to the couple’s foundation.
- The Gates Foundation has two driving principles: “All lives — no matter where they are being lived — have equal value,” and “To whom much is given, much is expected.”
- “We say, where are the biggest places that need change in the world and what is it we might impact?” Gates said. “We are the catalyst in many cases — or the voice for the diseases we’ve chosen.”
- Melinda cried tears of “unbelievable joy” after learning of Warren Buffet’s decision to hand over most of his wealth to her organization. She said the gracious donation has allowed the foundation to supplement its health programs by addressing issues such as the elimination of poverty.
Posted on April 30th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Charity, Giving Back, Global Orphan Crisis, Social Enterprise
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