Worldwide Success

The richest people in the world are giving more money away.  Warren Buffett who is the second richest man in the world tops the list as the largest donor, having given away a whopping total of $40 billion.  In second place is the richest man in the world, Bill Gates, who donated a total of $30 billion through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Interestingly, despite of the fact that they are focused on distributing their wealth to charitable donations, and have been giving a lot more money away recently, these two men keep on getting richer.  According to Forbes magazines’ 2007 ranking of the richest people in the world, Bill Gates fortune rose by $6 billion to $56 billion last year.  In the same time period Warren Buffett’s fortune increased by $10 billion to $52 billion.  Giving billions of dollars away in an effective manner is not an easy job!

Gates and Buffett are setting examples that many others are trying to follow.  According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, ten years ago there were only two gifts of $100 million or more, but since 2001 the number of $100 million donors has been in the double digits.  This new trend was kicked off by a criticism from Ted Turner who ten years ago challenged the richest people in the world to give more money away.  His prompting seems to have worked.

Now giving money away is “cool”.  The people that have this type of money seem to be driven by competitiveness, and now the new competition is to see who can give more away.  As reported in the USA Today, T. Boone Pickens, who makes the list of the most generous Americans, explained it succinctly: “If you said, ‘Boone, if you saw a list of people’s gifts, would you read the list?’  Yes.  I would probably be interested in where I stood.  You don’t want to be down in the pack, you want to be up near the top”.

Here is a list of the largest donors in American history based on inflation-adjusted dollars (in billions of dolars):

• Warren Buffett - 43.5
• Bill and Melinda Gates- 30
• John  D. Rockfeller - 7
• William Hewlett - 6
• Gordon and Betty More - 5
• Henry Ford and son Edsel - 4.3
• Andrew Carnegie - 3
• Joan Kroc - 2.6
• Susan Buffett - 2.5
• Walter Annenberg - 2

This is a fantastic new paradigm.  The comparison of financial success is no longer measured only as who can accumulate the most amount of money.  The new comparison of financial success is also based on who can give the most money away.  The influence of these multi-billionaires will hopefully filter down to the rest of society.  Instead of becoming obsessed with consumerism and use that as a measure of financial success can society shift their thinking to this new way of keeping up with the Joneses?  Instead of bragging about a newly acquired house or car, are the amounts of our donations becoming the hottest topic of conversation in cocktail parties?

Smart people like Gates and Buffett have realized that the true measure of financial success is not the accumulation of stuff that you can’t take with you when you die.  The true measure of financial success is how much you have done to make this world a better place.  These men have every material possession anyone could ever ask for.  Yet, they continue to work arduously, not to accumulate more, but to do more with what they have accumulated.  Even their multi-billion dollar fortunes are not enough to solve the needs for more medical research, education, and better living conditions for the poor.  So they keep on working and serving in the best way they possibly can.

If your definition of financial success has a dollar amount attached to it, how does this article influence your thinking?  Is financial success an end-game or is it an ongoing pursuit of using your assets and your skills in the best way possible to not only live a comfortable life, but ultimately to help others?  If it is the latter, does it really matter whether you have billions of dollars or just a few thousand or less?

Once you start thinking like the richest men in the world, you will realize that no matter where you are in your journey, you can be just as financially successful as they are.  It does not matter how much you have accumulated.  What really matters is what you do with what you have.

Social Bookmarks: