I have vowed with all my heart to be a philanthropist on earth before I pass away. You know why? My life from infancy till date has not tasted wealth but rather hardships. And I strongly believe that I will emerge uber-wealthy one day in order to become a prominent philanthropist afterwards. For if I think about how tough my current living is as a young boy, though I am destined for riches, I feel really compelled to allocate a large chunk of my lifetime fortune to charitable causes.
In fact, I want to be a millionaire by age 30, a multimillionaire by age 40, and a billionaire by age 50. However, I do not wish to dissipate my hard-earned accumulated wealth on sheer lavishness, but to spend it largely on charity. In the near future, I will try to forego my opulent desire to purchase a private jet just to fund start-ups in Africa.
Okay, let us delve into the rudiments of philanthropy. Literally speaking, philanthropy is an act of donating money, food, properties, and the like, to the less privileged as a way of promoting their welfare. Stated differently, philanthropy involves a socially oriented programme which focuses on improving the quality of people’s lives. The philosophical basis of philanthropy is expressed in Albert Einstein’s quote, “It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.”
Besides, “In my view, a philanthropist is anyone who gives anything – time, money, experience, skills or networks – in any amount, to create a better world. This is not how we once thought about philanthropy. The word used to conjure up something rather passive – sitting down and writing checks,” Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen revealed.
Moreover, we have heard of a number of internationally renowned philanthropists from the late 19th Century to this 21st Century. I even believe the two notable pioneers of professional philanthropy in the world are John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, who are among the richest individuals of all time. Rockefeller gave away over $540 million by the time he died in 1937, and Carnegie gave away over $350 million by the time he died in 1919.
Those amounts constituted more than 80% of their respective net worths at their deaths. Andrew Carnegie once remarked that, “I should consider it a disgrace to die a rich man.” But the greatest philanthropists ever are Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Li Ka-shing, Chuck Feeney etc., who have all donated $30.7 billion, $29 billion, $10 billion, and $6.2 billion respectively, according to Wikipedia.
Therefore, I urge you to be a philanthropist today – be it small or great. We do not necessarily need to be millionaires before we become philanthropists. Let us start now in our own ways regardless of financial constraints – that is true generosity which triggers supernatural blessings.
Remember, if you enioy phenomenal success one day in life, you are obliged to give back to society because it is a natural duty. Lastly, Gamaliel Bailey has a thought-provoking quote which goes like, “Never respect men merely for their riches, but rather for their philanthropy; we do not value the sun for its height, but its use.” Yes, dare to be a philanthropist today, and encourage other people to follow suit.
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