Warren Buffett is to donate £20bn, 85% of his personal fortune, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. That is, in a word, incredible.

This move will doubtless be criticised by some, who will claim that it’s easy for someone rich to give away vast amounts of money, especially when you’ll be left with £3bn in the bank anyway. That’s not really true, as evidence by the fact that those of lower income give a greater percentage of said income to charity than those with a higher income, and by the way Bono and Bob Geldof implore us to donate money to charity whilst sitting on £108m and £30m fortunes themselves. Warren Buffett hasn’t done this: He’s actually donated his own money – most of his own money – to a cause he believes in.

It won’t stop anti-capitalist campaigners from saying he’s only doing it as a guilt-releiving exercise, but that’s their problem.

As far as I’m concerned, good on him.

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hi baby

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