A wealth of cheapskates

Microsoft mogul Paul Allen, net worth $16 billion, gave away $53 million in 2006, according to Slate -- one-third of 1% of his fortune. Software magnate Lawrence Ellison, net worth $20 billion, gave away $100 million -- half of 1%. Pierre Omidyar, founder of EBay, net worth $7.7 billion, gave away $67 million -- less than 1%. Nike tycoon Philip Knight, net worth $7.9 billion, gave away $105 million -- slightly more than 1%.

Donations of this sort, in the multimillion-dollar range, inevitably mean a lot to charities or schools, and of course it is certainly preferable that the super-rich give millions rather than nothing at all. But for those whose net worth soars into the billions, even $100 million is a pittance compared with what they have the means to give. Financier George Soros, net worth $8.5 billion, in 2006 gave away $60 million, which sounds like a lot until you reflect that it is less than 1%. Soros rails against the inequities of capitalism. Yet when it comes to his own disproportionate stash, that's another story.

Bill Gates, one of history's richest men, has so far given $26.2 billion to the Gates Foundation, according to a spokesperson, and for this he has been widely praised. Gates and his wife were two of Time's Persons of the Year in 2005, exalted in a cover story as grand philanthropists. Yet $26.2 billion is crumbs from the table compared to what Gates might give. Even after the donations, his net worth is about $53 billion, according to Forbes. This means Bill and Melinda Gates have kept for themselves twice as much as they offered to others.

For the average person to keep much more than he or she gives is understandable; for the super-rich, it's a different matter. The $53 billion that Gates keeps for himself is money he could not possibly spend even by buying entire islands; it exceeds the gross domestic product of Costa Rica.

Converting to today's dollars, during his lifetime the industrialist Andrew Carnegie gave away $8 billion of his $10.3 billion net worth, or 78%, according to Carnegie Corp. figures. Suppose Gates followed suit: He would have to give away an additional $36 billion and go from being the world's richest man to exceeding Buffett as the world's greatest benefactor -- and he would still have $17 billion. Conservatively invested, $17 billion would yield, after taxes, about $700 million a year for life. So Gates could show history-making generosity and still remain richer than Croesus. Instead, it's mine, mine, mine.