No.13
CA: I mean, you’ve easily got enough money despite your vast contributions to the foundation to make them all billionaires. Is that your plan for them?
BG: Nope. No. They won’t have anything like that. They need to have a sense that their own work is meaningful and important. We read an article long, actually, before we got married, where Warren Buffett talked about that, and we’re quite convinced that it wasn’t a favor either to society or to the kids.
CA: Well, speaking of Warren Buffett, something really amazing happened in 2006, when somehow your only real rival for richest person in America suddenly turned around and agreed to give 80 percent of his fortune to your foundation. How on Earth did that happen? I guess there’s a long version and a short version of that. We’ve got time for the short version.
BG: All right. Well, Warren was a close friend, and he was going to have his wife Suzie give it all away. Tragically, she passed away before he did, and he’s big on delegation, and — (Laughter) — he said —
CA: Tweet that.
BG: If he’s got somebody who is doing something well, and is willing to do it at no charge, maybe that’s okay. But we were stunned.
MG: Totally stunned.
BG: We had never expected it, and it has been unbelievable. It’s allowed us to increase our ambition in what the foundation can do quite dramatically. Half the resources we have come from Warren’s mind-blowing generosity.
CA: And I think you’ve pledged that by the time you’re done, more than, or 95 percent of your wealth, will be given to the foundation.
BG: Yes.
ボキャブラリー
CA: I mean, you’ve easily got enough money despite your vast contributions to the foundation to make them all billionaires. Is that your plan for them?
BG: Nope. No. They won’t have anything like that. They need to have a sense that their own work is meaningful and important. We read an article long, actually, before we got married, where Warren Buffett talked about that, and we’re quite convinced that it wasn’t a favor either to society or to the kids.
CA: Well, speaking of Warren Buffett, something really amazing happened in 2006, when somehow your only real rival for richest person in America suddenly turned around and agreed to give 80 percent of his fortune to your foundation. How on Earth did that happen? I guess there’s a long version and a short version of that. We’ve got time for the short version.
BG: All right. Well, Warren was a close friend, and he was going to have his wife Suzie give it all away. Tragically, she passed away before he did, and he’s big on delegation, and — (Laughter) — he said —
CA: Tweet that.
BG: If he’s got somebody who is doing something well, and is willing to do it at no charge, maybe that’s okay. But we were stunned.
MG: Totally stunned.
BG: We had never expected it, and it has been unbelievable. It’s allowed us to increase our ambition in what the foundation can do quite dramatically. Half the resources we have come from Warren’s mind-blowing generosity.
CA: And I think you’ve pledged that by the time you’re done, more than, or 95 percent of your wealth, will be given to the foundation.
BG: Yes.
vast: a. 広大な、非常に広い、広漠とした、巨大な；膨大な、莫大な、巨額の
contribution: n. 貢献、寄付、出資、寄与、寄贈、寄稿、投稿
billionaire: n.億万長者 (百万長者はmillionaire)
nope: adv.｟くだけた話｠いいえ(no)(↔yep)
meaningful: a. 意味深い、有意義な、意味深長な、意味ありげな
long before: 〜よりずっと以前に[から]
Warren Buffett: ウォーレン・バフェット。アメリカ合衆国の著名な投資家、経営者。世界最大の投資持株会社であるバークシャー・ハサウェイの筆頭株主であり、同社の会長兼CEOを務める。
be convinced that ~ / of ~：〈人が〉…ということを確信している
turn around: 向きを変える、反転する
turn around [round] and 〜：〔向き直って〕不意に［失礼にも］～する
close friend: 親しい友人，親友
bíg on ~: 〈物事〉が大好きで; ~に熱中して; ~〈特徴など〉が盛りだくさんで.
delegation: n. 委任，委譲、代表派遣、派遣団，使節団
tweet: v. さえずる、〔ツイッターで〕つぶやく
be willing to do: 〜する意志がある、〜するのをいとわない、〜する気がある
at no charge: 無料で
stunned: a. 唖然として、愕然として、茫然として
totally: adv. すっごく、とても、本当に
mind-blowing: 強いショックを与える、ショッキングな、恍惚とさせる、びっくりするような
generosity: n. 気前の良さ，惜しみなさ、寛容さ、寛大さ、高潔
pledge: vt. 誓う、誓約する、保証する
resources: n. 財産，資産
wealth: n. 財産，富，資産
解説
ウォーレン・エドワード・バフェット
（Warren Edward Buffett, 1930年8月30日 – ）アメリカ合衆国の著名な投資家、経営者。世界最大の投資持株会社であるバークシャー・ハサウェイの筆頭株主で、同社の会長兼CEOを務める。
ウォーレン・バフェットによる寄附
2006年6月25日、世界一の投資家と呼ばれ、ゲイツに次いで世界第3位の富豪であったウォーレン・バフェットは、彼の持つ個人資産のうち85％を複数の慈善財団に寄附し、その85%中83%をB&MGFに充てると発表した。この寄附は現金ではなく彼自身が率いる米投資会社バークシャー・ハサウェイのB種株式およそ1000万株によって行われ、その額は307億ドル(同年6月23日時点での評価額)にのぼる。言うまでもなくこれは史上最大の寄附であり、B&MGFの規模は一挙に倍増した。
なお、この寄附は一度に行われるものではなく、株式の5%ずつが毎年支払われる。また、ゲイツ夫妻が生存しており、財団で活動していること、寄附された額と同額が毎年助成に使われることが条件となっている。[ウィキペディアより]