This man is truly incredible. I saw him talk recently and he was sharp, charming and modest.
Some material things make my life more enjoyable; many, however, would not. I like having an
expensive private plane, but owning a half-dozen homes would be a burden. Too often, a vast
collection of possessions ends up possessing its owner. The asset I most value, aside from health,
is interesting, diverse, and long-standing friends.My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound
interest. Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (For starters, the odds
against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white
also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced.)My luck was accentuated by my living in a market system that sometimes produces distorted
results, though overall it serves our country well. I’ve worked in an economy that rewards
someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with
thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with
sums reaching into the billions. In short, fate’s distribution of long straws is wildly capricious.The reaction of my family and me to our extraordinary good fortune is not guilt, but rather
gratitude. Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks on ourselves, neither our happiness
nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on
the health and welfare of others. That reality sets an obvious course for me and my family: Keep
all we can conceivably need and distribute the rest to society, for its needs. My pledge starts us
down that course.
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