PHILOSOPHY: Insane wealth generation and philanthropy

Mary Smaragdis has a post where Sun's CTO Greg Papadopoulus had some positive comments on Bill Gates philanthropy, to the tune of USD $30 billion. Even after reading that Warren Buffett has decided to join in, with another hefty chunk, I still think that Andrew Carnegie with $350 million in 19th and early 20th century was the biggest ever in last two hundred years. Straight from Buffett's mouth

Certainly neither Susie nor I ever thought we should pass huge amounts of money along to our children. Our kids are great. But I would argue that when your kids have all the advantages anyway, in terms of how they grow up and the opportunities they have for education, including what they learn at home - I would say it's neither right nor rational to be flooding them with money.

In effect, they've had a gigantic headstart in a society that aspires to be a meritocracy. Dynastic mega-wealth would further tilt the playing field that we ought to be trying instead to level.

IMO, those who do hoard their wealth for their progeny, are doing them no good. Almost always, by the end of the 5th generation down, it is squandered away.