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  Rather than pass on his $44 billion fortune to his adult children, whom he notes are already quite well-off, Buffett announced Sunday that he is giving away the bulk of his assets to a foundation run by his friends, Bill and Melinda Gates. This will double the $1.5 billion that the world&#8217;s richest foundation spends annually — mostly on health and education programs.
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  The gift is notable in several ways.
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  First, its sheer size. The donation makes industrialist benefactors such as John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie look almost stingy and is rivaled only by the Gateses&#8217; own gifts of $25.9 billion. Calculating the impact that money might have is impossible, but neither Buffett nor the Gateses think small. &#8220;There&#8217;s no reason we can&#8217;t cure the world&#8217;s 20 deadliest illnesses,&#8221; Bill Gates said Monday.
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  They might.
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  The gift also underscores a little-noticed trend: a renaissance in philanthropy. In 2004, the latest year for which data exist, the USA had 70,000 foundations — double the number a decade earlier. They gave away $33 billion.
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  But perhaps most striking is the way Buffett&#8217;s decision stands out in this greed-is-good era, in which, to cite one example of gross excess, the average pay for top hedge-fund managers last year exceeded $360 million.
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  To a large degree, of course, wealth-building — if not outright greed — is good. Before they gave away a dime, Buffett and Gates created jobs and raised people&#8217;s living standards by building spectacularly successful companies. But when should the wealth-building stop?
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  &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe in dynastic wealth,&#8221; Buffett has said, likening inherited wealth to choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold medal winners in the 2000 Olympics. That&#8217;s why he opposes efforts to repeal the estate tax, saying that without it, America would have an aristocracy based on inherited wealth instead of a meritocracy that rewards ability and drive.
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  As Adam Smith, the father of modern capitalism, said in 1759 of generous capitalists, Buffett feels it&#8217;s in his self-interest to help others &#8220;though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it.&#8221; Here&#8217;s hoping others heed the message.
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