No.14
CA: And since this relationship, it’s amazing— (Applause) And recently, you and Warren have been going around trying to persuade other billionaires and successful people to pledge to give, what, more than half of their assets for philanthropy. How is that going?
BG: Well, we’ve got about 120 people who have now taken this giving pledge. The thing that’s great is that we get together yearly and talk about, okay, do you hire staff, what do you give to them? We’re not trying to homogenize it. I mean, the beauty of philanthropy is this mind-blowing diversity. People give to some things. We look and go, “Wow.” But that’s great. That’s the role of philanthropy is to pick different approaches, including even in one space, like education. We need more experimentation. But it’s been wonderful, meeting those people, sharing their journey to philanthropy, how they involve their kids, where they’re doing it differently, and it’s been way more successful than we expected. Now it looks like it’ll just keep growing in size in the years ahead.
MG: And having people see that other people are making changes with philanthropy, I mean, these are people who have created their own businesses, put their own ingenuity behind incredible ideas. If they put their ideas and their brain behind philanthropy, they can change the world. And they start to see others doing it, and saying, “Wow, I want to do that with my own money.” To me, that’s the piece that’s incredible.
ボキャブラリー
CA: And since this relationship, it’s amazing— (Applause) And recently, you and Warren have been going around trying to persuade other billionaires and successful people to pledge to give, what, more than half of their assets for philanthropy. How is that going?
BG: Well, we’ve got about 120 people who have now taken this giving pledge. The thing that’s great is that we get together yearly and talk about, okay, do you hire staff, what do you give to them? We’re not trying to homogenize it. I mean, the beauty of philanthropy is this mind-blowing diversity. People give to some things. We look and go, “Wow.” But that’s great. That’s the role of philanthropy is to pick different approaches, including even in one space, like education. We need more experimentation. But it’s been wonderful, meeting those people, sharing their journey to philanthropy, how they involve their kids, where they’re doing it differently, and it’s been way more successful than we expected. Now it looks like it’ll just keep growing in size in the years ahead.
MG: And having people see that other people are making changes with philanthropy, I mean, these are people who have created their own businesses, put their own ingenuity behind incredible ideas. If they put their ideas and their brain behind philanthropy, they can change the world. And they start to see others doing it, and saying, “Wow, I want to do that with my own money.” To me, that’s the piece that’s incredible.
go around: 歩き回る、動き回る、あちらこちらに行く
persuade: vt. 説得する、説得して〜させる、口説く、口説き落とす、丸め込む
successful: a. 成功を収めた、出世した、富を得た
pledge: n. 誓約，約束，公約
asset: n. （通例assets）資産，財産
philanthropy: n. 慈善活動，社会奉仕事業
giving: a. 寛大な
get together: 集まる、集合する、会う、会合する
yearly: adv. 毎年，年一回
hire: vt. 〜を雇う
staff: n. スタッフ，職員，社員
homogenize: vt. 〜を均質にする、同質にする
diversity: n. 多様性、相違，差異
experimentation: n. （アイデアなどの有効性を調べるための）実験
ahead: adv. （時間）先に、事前に、あらかじめ
make changes: 修正する、改善する
ingenuity: n. 創意，工夫，創造力
piece: n. 意見、主張；要素，部品
解説
ビル・ゲイツ氏とウォーレン・バフェット氏は，二人で食事をしているときに、他の億万長者たちにも、財産の多くを寄付してもらう計画を立てたそうです。
最初に、ゲイツ氏、妻のメリンダさん，バフェット氏で、フォーブス誌に掲載されている最も裕福な人々のリスト４００人に順番に電話を掛けました。
そして、これらのほとんど面識のない人立ちに、財産を寄付する誓約に参加するよう説得していきました。
この誓約は法的な契約書ではなく、自分のモラル的な決心を表明するもので、どこにどれくらい寄付するのかという内容も自分で決めます。
こちらのサイトに、誓約の内容が載っています。→ “The Giving Pledge”