Irish Examiner View: Philanthropy as a force for change

Bill Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation speaks onstage at 2019 New York Times Dealbook on November 06, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times)

It may be coincidental that as the generations with access to one of 3,500 libraries funded by Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie between 1883 and 1929 grew up and came to power that western democracy entered what may eventually be seen as its golden age. That parallel, though it would be easy to overstate it, seems more than arguable. At a time when education was still very much a privilege, utterly unaffordable for millions, Carnegie's books were one of many let-in-the-light catalysts that reshaped our world. Carnegie used his wealth to educate and foster real change even if that idea seems almost implausible in today's data-swamped, multi-media culture.

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and one of our world's richest men, is one of Carnegie's successors. This June, Forbes estimated his wealth at $110bn, a fortune that continues to grow despite the fact that he has given more than $50bn to charities since 1994. A decade ago Bill and Melinda Gates, working with billionaire Warren Buffett, founded Giving Pledge, a movement encouraging billionaires to give away most of their wealth while they were alive or as a bequest. The group includes more than 200 families or individuals from more than 20 countries.