Reference no: EM132250731

The Case of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet

Two of the wealthiest men in America and, indeed, the world, are Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.For many years, Gates was criticized for giving little to charity.With the creation of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, however, Gates has become one of the foremost philanthropists in the world.Warren Buffet's contribution to the work of the Gates Foundation is perhaps the equivalent of $30 billion.Some critics of the economic system in which there are fabulous fortunes acquired are similar to the critics of the Carnegies of earlier generations.

The American system allows some people to become very rich, while others are poor. Bill Gates achieved his billions by starting and running a new company which grew enormously. Warren Buffett rose from his modest beginnings to being the richest man in the world through shrewd investments. Is such a system morally defensible? Both Gates and Buffett, unlike many others, have pledged to give most of their wealth to charitable foundations, and have begun to do so. Does philanthropy make up for any perceived injustice in the system? From a moral point of view, what are we to say about the American system in particular, and about liberal democratic capitalism in general?