"[Buffett] had long promised to give away his fortune posthumously. But in the summer of 2006 he irrevocably earmarked the majority of his Berkshire shares to charity, most going to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
At the time, the gift was valued at $31 billion. However, assuming that Berkshire shares continue to rise, the final amount of the donation will far exceed that sum. Buffett gives 5% of his shares to charity every July.
In October, Buffett issued a challenge to members of the Forbes 400 richest Americans list, saying he would donate $1 million to charity if the collective group (or a significant number of them) would admit they pay less taxes, as a percentage of income, than their secretaries.
Days after issuing the challenge, Buffett appeared before Congress to encourage it to keep the estate tax. Armed with a few Forbes 400 issues, he told the hearing that "dynastic wealth, the enemy of a meritocracy, is on the rise."
(full article here)
Here we have a self-made man, who is certainly not a socialist, and yet social concerns top his priority list. He is aware of and not afraid to point out the inequalities in our current taxation system and is concerned about the future of our society even when considering his own departure from it. I'm sure the man needs no fan mail from me, but I certainly wish and hope that successful business people will follow his lead.
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