Another billionaire donates fortune
By Sandhya

A number of technology gurus have done much philanthropic work in the past.  David Packard of Hewlett-Packard was highly regarded for giving a large part of his fortune to charity.  But Microsoft founder Bill and his wife Melinda Gates set new standards for charity and public service when they announced they would give away more than 95 percent of their fortune to charity.

Indian tech majors like Infosys and HCL also do much for social causes.

America’s most successful investment guru Warren Buffet was so impressed by the work done by the Gates Foundation that he is donating billions to them. Warrant Buffet has made it clear that he would be donating 99 percent of his personal fortune to charity. The Gates and Buffet have a combined personal net worth of about $100 Billion.

It did not stop there.  In June, 2010, Bill, Melinda and Warren made a public appeal requesting American billionaires to donate at least half their fortunes to helping the poor. This core team has organized a number of meetings and dinners all over the world, including India, to get the super rich to donate to worthwhile causes.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is a very wealthy man with his personal worth is excess of $13 Billion.  Time magazine has twice listed him as being among the 100 Most Influential People in the World. In the past, Paul Allen has donated more than 1 Billion dollars of his own funds to charity.  On July 15, 2010, Paul made a public announcement that he would now be donating most of his fortune to charity.  His public statement read

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Today I also want to announce that my philanthropic efforts will continue after my lifetime.  I’ve planned for many years now that the majority of my estate will be left to philanthropy to continue the work of the Foundation and to fund non-profit scientific research, like the ground breaking work being done at the Allen Institute for Brain Science.  As our philanthropy continues in the years ahead, we will look for new opportunities to make a difference in the lives of future generations.”

Paul Allen
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