To Give Is to Give

Who would reject an invitation to dine with Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, or with Warren Buffett, the most successful investor in the world? As unusual as it sounds, most business representatives declined an invitation to a banquet organized by both entrepreneurs scheduled for the end of the month in Beijing, the capital of China.

The American multimillionaires who, according to Forbes, are the second and third richest people on the planet, recently launched a campaign — “The Giving Pledge” — which consists of convincing other magnates to follow their example and promise to donate, now or in the event of their death, at least half of their fortunes.

The list in the United States of those who have promised to donate most of their fortunes has now reached more than 40 people, including Barron Hilton from the hotel chain, director George Lucas and even David Rockefeller. In China, however, the request did not sit well and, according to reports, only two people of the 50 who were invited to the banquet have shown interest in listening to Gates and Buffett speak about the virtues of giving away their material possessions.

Individual fortunes are a recent phenomenon in China. According to Hurun, an institute that follows this issue, six years ago China only had three multimillionaires. Last year, the number rose to 103, but just like accumulating an estate is a relatively new phenomenon, donating to charity is even more usual.

Several reasons explain why Gates’ and Buffett’s messages don’t resonate in China. First, if industrialization and modernization in the country started only three decades ago, this is the moment to create and accumulate wealth — not to give it away. If Warren Buffett would have donated his first million instead of reinvesting it in his business, it is possible he wouldn’t have the $47 billion he is now capable of donating.

Chinese millionaires, whose median age is 39 years, must be thinking that it is too soon to be asked to enter the big leagues of philanthropy. It’s also possible that many of them fear raising resentment and gaining notoriety in public opinion, which suspects — with or without reason — that the way many new millionaires have acquired their fortunes is through corruption and influence peddling.

One could be tempted to think that Gates’ and Buffett’s crusade is an additional example of the way in which Americans try to impose their values and concepts on what is right and wrong on the rest of the world. Many in China must be thinking that, but I believe it is transformative because it puts charity where it belongs — on a moral level. Saving a child who is drowning in a pool next to you is different from saving a child you can’t see, who is dying of hunger; but in both cases a strong moral obligation to help exists.

This is what philosopher Peter Singer believes, and he also says that we are responsible not only for what we do to others but also for what we lack to do for others. That, I believe, is the idea Bill Gates and Warren Buffett wanted to bring to China, and if, as many studies indicate, human beings tend to do the same as others with whom they identify, soon we will see Chinese millionaires donating half of their fortunes.

It doesn’t matter whether the money is used to alleviate hunger in Africa, find a cure for malaria, or assist in more nearby issues, like the well-being of Chinese workers or environmental degradation, because, as the famous song says, to give is to give.