How the Wealthy Use Their Charitable Foundations for Good

How the Wealthy Use Their Charitable Foundations for Good

How the Wealthy Use Their Charitable Foundations for Good

What do Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Paul Allen, Gordon Moore, and Michael Bloomberg have in common? Of course, they are all among the world’s wealthiest individuals, but these men also have something else in common. They’re all on the list of the world’s most generous people. All of them have achieved great success and huge financial wealth, but they’ve also been very generous in sharing their fortunes with others and putting that money towards good causes. While most of the world’s most generous people have used many different methods to share their wealth, in most cases they have created private charitable foundations to distribute that wealth. Let’s look at some of the top philanthropists and how they’ve shared their wealth.

Bill Gates

The chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has reportedly given away more than $21 billion to charitable causes in his lifetime, but he’s not stopping there. Ten years ago, Buffett pledged to give away 85 percent of his remaining wealth to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. He also joined with Gates in 2011 to form the Giving Pledge, which focuses on committing the richest people to donate a large portion of their money to charity.

Michael Bloomberg

The former mayor of New York City and the CEO of Bloomberg Media is said to be worth more than $37 billion. He has also donated a reported $3 billion of his wealth to charitable causes via his Bloomberg Foundation. That money has been used to target several initiatives, including many in environmental causes, education, and health care.

Paul Allen

The other half of the tandem that founded Microsoft, Allen has donated about $2 billion to several causes through his Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, which helps global health causes, such as Alzheimer’s research among other initiatives.

Mark Zuckerberg

The founder of Facebook has not yet donated as much as some of the others on the list, although the estimated $1.6 billion he’s given away is nothing to scoff at. Plus, Zuckerberg is much younger than most of the people on this list so he has a lot more time to still give his money away. And, he has already signed the Giving Pledge and plans to donate at least half his wealth during his lifetime. 

Gordon Moore

The co-founder of Intel has now turned his attention to helping the less fortunate and in doing so has donated a reported $5 billion of his personal wealth. He and his wife formed the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, which focuses on environmental conservation, advancements in science and patient care, among other things. 
We hope you found this article about “How the Wealthy Use Their Charitable Foundations for Good” helpful.  If you have questions or need expert tax or family office advice that’s refreshingly objective (we never sell investments), please contact us or visit our Family office page  or our website at www.GROCO.com.  Unfortunately, we no longer give advice to other tax professionals gratis.

To receive our free newsletter, contact us here.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for more updates.

Alan Olsen, CPA

Alan Olsen, is the Host of the American Dreams Show and the Managing Partner of GROCO.com.  GROCO is a premier family office and tax advisory firm located in the San Francisco Bay area serving clients all over the world.

Alan L. Olsen, CPA, Wikipedia Bio

 

 

GROCO.com is a proud sponsor of The American Dreams Show.

 

American-Dreams-Show-Accounting-firm-in-ca-cpa-tax-advisors-groco-alan-olsen

The American Dreams show was the brainchild of Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA. It was originally created to fill a specific need; often inexperienced entrepreneurs lacked basic information about raising capital and how to successfully start a business.

Alan sincerely wanted to respond to the many requests from aspiring entrepreneurs asking for the information and introductions they needed. But he had to find a way to help in which his venture capital clients and friends would not mind.

The American Dreams show became the solution, first as a radio show and now with YouTube videos as well. Always respectful of interview guest’s time, he’s able to give access to individuals information and inspiration previously inaccessible to the first-time entrepreneurs who need it most.

They can listen to venture capitalists and successful business people explain first-hand, how they got to where they are, how to start a company, how to overcome challenges, how they see the future evolving, opportunities, work-life balance and so much more..

American Dreams discusses many topics from some of the world’s most successful individuals about their secrets to life’s success. Topics from guest have included:

Creating purpose in life / Building a foundation for their life / Solving problems / Finding fulfillment through philanthropy and service / Becoming self-reliant / Enhancing effective leadership / Balancing family and work…

Untitled_Artwork copy 4

MyPaths.com (Also sponsored by GROCO) provides free access to content and world-class entrepreneurs, influencers and thought leaders’ personal success stories. To help you find your path in life to true, sustainable success & happiness.  It’s mission statement:

In an increasingly complex and difficult world, we hope to help you find your personal path in life and build a strong foundation by learning how others found success and happiness. True and sustainable success and happiness are different for each one of us but possible, often despite significant challenges.

Our mission at MyPaths.com is to provide resources and firsthand accounts of how others found their paths in life, so you can do the same.

 
Posted in
SELECTING A GOOD TRUSTEE – FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A TRUSTEE

Selecting a Good Trustee – Factors to Consider When Choosing a Trustee

Selecting a Good Trustee – Factors to Consider When Choosing a Trustee By Rocco Beatrice WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A TRUSTEE When selecting a Trustee the most important qualities of a trustee are honesty, stability, dependability, organization, financial experience, and ability to devote time and energy on an impartial basis for the benefit of…

Tax Strategies Under Obama Tax Plan

Tax Strategies Under Obama Tax Plan

Tax Strategies Under Obama Tax Plan Everyone is aware that President-elect Barack Obama has stated his case clearly that there will be a major tax bill for 2009. As our experience shows, a first-term tax law will probably not see passage by both houses until as late as July; however, it is more than likely…

taxable Gift Tax: Tips from the IRS

Gift Tax: Tips from the IRS

Gift Tax: Tips from the IRS Taxpayers who have given gifts exceeding $11,000 in value to a single individual must report the total gift amount to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The giver may owe taxes on the gifts. The recipient, however, does not have to report or pay taxes on the value of the…

The secondary market may impact 409A valuations

Secondary Market May Impact 409A Valuations

Secondary Market May Impact 409A Valuations An issue gaining attention with respect to 409A valuations is the fact that many private company shares are increasingly being traded in the secondary market. There is a debate among valuation specialists over how transactions in private company stock impact the value of the company securities for 409A purposes.…