Philanthropy

Giving big

IN JULY Bill Gates will go to work full-time at his charitable organisation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. There will be plenty for him to do. Thanks to Warren Buffet’s decision in 2006 to add the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the $30 billion endowed by Mr Gates, he will have to scale up operations fast. And other billionaires have been inspired (or shamed) into following suit. Among them is Carlos Slim Helu, a Mexican telecoms billionaire now reckoned to be richer than either man. He has pledged some $13 billion to his foundations.