捐錢速度還不夠快，世界富豪們很著急

世界首富們覺得自己捐錢的速度還不夠快，但這并未阻止他們就此作出嘗試。

本周一，沃倫·巴菲特說他計劃向五個慈善組織捐獻36億美元的伯克希爾-哈撒韋公司股票，這是他作出的最大捐贈之一。沃爾瑪的繼承人吉姆·沃爾頓在上周也捐出了12億美元的沃爾瑪股份。家得寶的聯合創始人伯尼·馬庫斯上周末稱，他正在做規劃，以便在死前將自己的45億美元財富差不多悉數捐出。

在他們進行上述捐贈的同時，人們正在爭論這些美國首富們怎樣用自己的錢來幫助解決貧富差距和其他經濟失衡問題才最為合適。上周，喬治·索羅斯和Facebook的聯合創始人克里斯·休斯等人呼吁征收財富稅，以便為應對氣候變化和公共健康措施提供資金。巴菲特等另一些富豪則一直表示，他們更愿意讓比爾及梅琳達·蓋茨基金會這樣的實體來監督相關慈善工作。

周一發表的聲明顯示，自2006年承諾裸捐以來，巴菲特向慈善機構捐贈的股份總價值已經達到340億美元左右。接受捐贈的團體包括蓋茨基金會、以巴菲特已故妻子命名的幾家慈善機構以及巴菲特子女管理的一些慈善組織。

6月27日提交給監管部門的文件未披露沃爾頓的捐贈對象，但該家族成員一直定期向沃爾頓家族基金會捐款，后者的活動領域包括教育和環境。該基金會網站稱，2018年它對外提供的資金超過5.95億美元，而截至2017年年底其資產規模為49億美元。

沃爾頓家族女發言人尚未回應要求其發表評論的電子郵件。

巴菲特花了50多年時間讓伯克希爾-哈撒韋公司的市值突破5000億美元，并且覆蓋了從保險到制造等諸多行業。該公司的成功一度讓巴菲特成為世界首富，只是不斷的捐贈已經讓他的財富排名跌落至第四位。

巴菲特在2006年提出的裸捐方案后來做了調整，現在的設想是先確定個人財產數目，然后在死后10年內捐出所有伯克希爾股份。

長期以來，這位身價上億的投資者一直在支持蓋茨夫婦的慈善事業。2006年，巴菲特曾經表示自己捐獻股票的目的是提升蓋茨基金會在解決社會問題方面“已有的顯著效果”。同時接受巴菲特股票捐贈的還有蘇珊·湯普森·巴菲特基金會、舍伍德基金會、霍華德·G·巴菲特基金會和NoVo基金會。

彭博億萬富翁指數顯示，吉姆·沃爾頓的捐贈使其個人凈值降到了500億美元左右。上周提交的另一份文件表明，他的兄長羅伯·沃爾頓也捐出了13.5萬股沃爾瑪股票，價值1500萬美元。（財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

The world’s richest can’t give away their money fast enough–but that’s not stopping them from trying.

Warren Buffett said Monday he plans to donate $3.6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock to five charities–one of his largest gifts ever–while Walmart Inc. heir Jim Walton gave away $1.2 billion of the retailer’s shares last week. And Home Depot Inc. co-founder Bernie Marcus said this weekend he’s planning to gift almost his entire $4.5 billion fortune before he dies.

The donations are occurring amid debate over how best the richest Americans should use their money to help address income inequality and other economic imbalances. Last week, a group including George Soros and Facebook Inc. co-founder Chris Hughes called for a wealth tax to help provide funds for fighting climate change and public health initiatives. Others such as Buffett have argued that they prefer to have entities such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation oversee the charitable work.

Buffett’s gift brings the total amount of stock he’s donated to foundations to about $34 billion since making a pledge in 2006 to give away all his fortune, according to a statement Monday. The recipients include the Gates Foundation, as well as charities named for his late wife and ones run by his children.

The recipient of Walton’s gift wasn’t disclosed in a June 27 regulatory filing, but family members have regularly donated to the Walton Family Foundation, whose whose causes include education and the environment. The foundation awarded more than $595 million in grants in 2018, according to its website, and had assets of $4.9 billion at the end of 2017.

A spokeswoman for the family didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Buffett has spent more than five decades crafting Berkshire Hathaway into a company with a market value of more than half a trillion dollars, spanning industries from insurance to manufacturing. Its success once made him the world’s richest man, though he has fallen back to fourth place as he steadily gives his fortune away.

The original 2006 plan was later modified, and envisages posthumously donating all of the Berkshire stock within a decade after his estate is settled.

The billionaire investor has long supported the Gateses’ charitable endeavors, and said in 2006 that he aimed for the stock donations to ramp up their foundation’s “already impressive effectiveness” addressing societal problems. Buffett is also giving stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.

Jim Walton’s donation cut his net worth to about $50 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His older brother, Rob Walton, also donated 135,000 Walmart shares–worth $15 million–a separate filing last week shows.