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Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poverty. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

I hope this guy stickc to his promise, spending his billions to defeat global poverty

'I will not be leaving my $56bn fortune to my kids', says Bill Gates | News.com.au

 

MICROSOFT founder Bill Gates has revealed he won't be leaving his estimated $56 billion fortune to his children when he dies.

Instead the global software giant brainchild, who ranks alongside the Medicis, Romanovs, Rothschilds and Rockefellers as one of history's wealthiest people, told UK newspaper The Sun that his billions will be spent defeating global poverty.

"I will give the kids some money but not a meaningful percentage," he said.

"Setting the number so that they need to work but they feel reasonably taken care of is hard to figure out."

Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have three children - Jennifer, 14, Rory, 11, and eight-year-old Phoebe.

"I knew I didn't think it was a good idea to give the money to my kids," Mr Gates said.

"That wouldn't be good either for my kids or society. So the question was, 'Can I find something that had incredible impact?' I knew I wanted to do that."

 

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

deception

How unlucky to be poor in developing countries such as Indonesia

23 dead in crush for $4 charity handout | NEWS.com.au
AT least 21 people were killed and scores more hurt when a crowd stampeded in Indonesia after about 10,000 people queued for a charity handout to mark the Muslim fasting month.

The crush happened in the East Java town of Pasuruan when a crowd of poor people were waiting for a donation, known as zakat, of 30,000 rupiah ($3.96) each from a wealthy family, the Antara state news agency said.

The Associated Press reported 23 fatalities.

Some people collapsed due to a lack of oxygen in the crush, while others were trampled, the report said, adding the injured were being treated in a nearby hospital.

Zakat, or alms, is obligatory for wealthy Muslims and usually paid before the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

Many poor people in mostly Muslim Indonesia depend on these funds for several months.