Bill Gates and his philanthropy partner Warren Buffett announced a campaign Wednesday to convince America's billionaires to give away half their money to the charities of their choice. Flickr photo.

Billionaires giving money away isn’t so unusual. When the billionaires giving money away are Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, it’s good, but old, news. But when billionaires Gates and Buffett call out their fellow billionaires to pledge 50 percent of their fortunes to charity, people notice. The billionaire philanthropists announced a campaign Wednesday to persuade America’s billionaires to sign a “Giving Pledge” to donate most of their wealth to the causes of their choice.

The Gates Buffett charity pledge

The latest Gates Buffett charity drive is called “The Giving Pledge.” The Associated Press reports that the two men, who have become friends and philanthropic colleagues, are asking the super-rich to sign a pledge making a public statement that they will donate either during their lifetime or at the time of their death to the charities of their choice. Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said in a letter introducing The Giving Pledge that he couldn’t be happier with the decision he made in 2006, when he gave 99 percent of his roughly $47 billion fortune to charity.

Billionaire philanthropists

Buffett’s billionaire philanthropy will eventually split most of his shares of his company between five charitable foundations, with the largest sum going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Reuters reports that Bill and Melinda Gates have so far given more than $28 billion of their money to their foundation. Since the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation began in 1994, it has given away more than $22 billion for health improvements in poor countries and to improve access to education and career opportunities for Americans.

The billionaire list

On the billionaire list, Bill Gates had held the title of world’s richest 14 of the past 15 years. He was beat out for number one on the billionaire list in 2010 by Mexican tycoon Slim Helu, whose fortune swelled by $18.5 billion in 12 months to an estimated $53.5 billion. Gates is now ranked second richest man in the world with $53 billion, while Buffett came in at No. 3 with $47 billion.

Will billionaires give money away?

The U.S. has at least 400 billionaires — the most in the world — with a net worth Forbes estimates at $1.2 trillion.  If Buffett and Gates could convince America’s billionaires to give half their fortunes to charity it would transform the nature of philanthropy. Fortune, which broke the story, reports that IRS facts for 2007 show the 400 biggest taxpayers had a total adjusted income of $138 billion, and just more than $11 billion was taken as a charitable deduction — about 8 percent. If all the billionaires give money away, however unlikely, about $69 billion would flood the coffers for the common good.

Gates Buffett charity goals

The campaign began just over a year ago, when Gates and Buffett — who represent a combined net worth of $90 billion, according to Forbes — invited several billionaires to a secret dinner meeting in New York. MSNBC reports that the group settled on a goal of 50 percent of net worth. They set up a website, givingpledge.org, to promote the campaign. If the individuals on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans pledged half their net worth to charity, that would amount to $600 billion.

Warren Buffett vigorously defends Goldman Sachs. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Over the weekend, investor extraordinaire Warren Buffett came to the defense of embattled investment house Goldman Sachs.  Goldman has been under fire for some time, for the role it played in the Wall Street meltdown and the recession.  Buffet asserted that the fraud allegations and investigations are unwarranted.  He also came to the defense of Ben Bernanke, and that the Fed Chairman was right in the course the Federal Reserve took in its actions in making out short term loans to ailing Wall Street firms and banks.

Warren Buffett offers support of Goldman Sachs

Warren Buffett defended Goldman Sachs against the charges of fraud leveled in a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit.  The purchases in question were a bundle of mortgages in collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) packages, sold as the product Abacus. Hedge fund Paulson and Co. bet on the securities losing money. The charge is that Goldman Sachs purchased the securities without notifying stockholders of the bet against Abacus. Warren Buffett said in Reuters: “I don’t have a problem with the Abacus transaction at all,” and that “I think I understand it better than most.”

Buffett Defends Bernanke

Warren Buffett also leaped to the defense of Ben Bernanke.  Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, has taken a bit of a beating in the press for seeming to be too willing to pump cash into Wall Street. Buffett said that “there’s no one in the United States  that I know of whom I would rather have running the Fed than Ben Bernanke.”  Bernanke, sometimes called “Helicopter Ben” orchestrated the emergency infusion of cash into troubled Wall Street firms.

Berkshire-Hathaway owns a hefty stake in Goldman

Warren Buffett, through his company Berkshire-Hathaway, has a wide variety of concerns and investments, and a hefty one is a stake in Goldman Sachs. Buffett owns more than $5 billion in Goldman shares.  He would be in a unique position to see whether a transaction could be fraudulent or imprudent.  He seems to be satisfied with the actions of Goldman Sachs and executive Lloyd Blankfein.  Buffett, after all, is an Investment Wizard, and wouldn’t back a company if he didn’t have a legitimate reason to do so.

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The Wisest Entrepreneurs Use the Internet to Pursue Debt Management Solutions

Well known and savvy business persons, such as Donald Trump and Warren Buffett, have found Internet marketing to be a lucrative business model. Rich or poor, most people are interested in increasing their wealth and in finding debt management solutions. Trump has made his way into the Internet’s business arena through multiple avenues, including his own Trump University. At the same time, Mr. Buffett has also capitalized on the wealth opportunities available through the web by his acquisitions of several network marketing ventures that feature Internet business models. Although both moguls continue in their former business and investment ventures, it shouldn’t be ignored that they have created additional income streams that involve web-based businesses in order to supplement their wealth. While these men certainly have more capital to invest and more income streams than most other people do, the point is that business is being done each and every day on the Internet. Though many will not educate themselves on how to start one and will continue to search elsewhere for debt management solutions, multitudes of smart entrepreneurs are finding that creating additional income through an Internet business is the answer they’ve been looking for.

It’s All About the Niche

Among the greatest performing Internet business opportunities are those that offer people help with developing relationships. Internet dating sites and forums seem to be ever-popular. This is particularly true when they focus on a niche demographic, such as widows, handicapped people or those who are seeking relationships with others who share a particular interest, such as developing debt management solutions. Websites like these demonstrate that Internet business opportunities that are niche focused are able to more efficiently serve small segments of society, which are often overlooked. In a brick and mortar business, focusing on such narrow markets can appear to be impractical as most are forced to focus on serving a wider community in order to maximize their profits. However, in Internet business models the exact opposite is true as these businesses are able to reach out and focus on worldwide communities, which are much larger. At the same time that these businesses can afford to focus on smaller niches because of a broader playing field, many are also finding that there is minimal competition for certain niches, which makes many of these opportunities extremely lucrative.

Using Debt Management Solutions in Strong and Weak Economies

Even as the American economy continues to rebound, debt management solutions and creating additional income streams will always be necessary. As such, Internet businesses will continue to be an attractive option for many people. While niche Internet dating sites is but a single example of the types of businesses that thrive in any climate, assiduous research on other niche markets, as well as on how to start and manage an Internet business, can prove to be profitable in any economic climate. Even the smallest entrepreneur can find debt management solutions and the success they dream of via the pursuit of Internet business ideas.

Not Everyone Embraces the Debt Management Solutions Offered Through Internet Business Opportunities

Those looking for debt management solutions are strongly encouraged to ignore naysayers and thoroughly investigate Internet business opportunities. This is particularly true for those who have lost their jobs during the downturn in the economy, as well as those who understand the wealth that additional income streams can create. While many who do not trust or understand how the web works will believe that it is impossible to actually make money on the Internet, others who are actually doing so are proof enough that legitimate opportunities can lead to success. True debt management solutions await those who are most willing to educate themselves and take positive steps toward their destiny.

He wants to teach your kids about money. You should listen, too. (Photo: DIC Entertainment)

What have we learned about the way people handle money lately? Loose and lazy seems to be the general rule in America, in that people don’t tend to plan as much for the future as they should and operate on instant gratification. Lack of impulse control is common. Yet the current recession has been a deep, dark, truthful mirror of sorts, not only for ourselves but for our government. Just as we must manage our money well and make informed decisions, the government needs to do the same and stop shoveling problems under the rug. Hopefully, the Obama administration will start breaking some of the old ways.

But what about us?

Payday loans and unsecured loans offer short-term help, but what should we do over the long haul? We should look to any sources we can find to teach ourselves and our children about finance. First and foremost, it should be part of the core educational curriculum from a very early stage in schools.

However, there are other tools. For instance, Warren Buffett, the mastermind investor of Berkshire-Hathaway, has agreed to lend his voice to a new animated series called “The Secret Millionaire’s Club.” The idea behind this is to “get children to grasp basic finance lessons well before they do things like, say, agree to a risky, adjustable rate mortgage,” reports The Huffington Post.

Here’s Buffett’s idea

If we can get through to some young people, say it’s better to be ahead of the game than behind, watch out for credit cards, most important message is the best investment you can make is in yourself. Teach them if something is too good to be true it probably is. So if they learn those things the easy way through these stories early on it may save them learning the hard way later on.

He’s definitely enthusiastic about “The Secret Millionaire’s Club.” Here’s a recent CNBC interview:

Stock market looking up

People need to know about these kinds of things. People want to know what’s going on with the stock market. Specifically, whether or not they should start investing again. On that matter, Warren Buffett has had good things to say. Now that the Dow has hit 9,000 for the first time since January, he’s weighing in: “I would much rather own equities at 9,000 on the DOW than have a long investment in government bonds or a continuously rolling investment in short term money now. Again, I don’t know where it’s going to go next week or next month.”

So according to Buffett, investors should invest now. Business may still be flat, but as Buffett puts it, “If you wait until you see the robin, spring will already be over.”

Short term money?

Payday loans and unsecured loans are short term money. If your budget has a real need for that kind of boost, you can apply right here, right now. And be sure to check out “The Secret Millionaire’s Club” when it hits a computer or television near you.

Related Video:

Every wonder how Warren Buffet made his billions?

Aside from getting personal loans, investing is one of the best ways to find extra income during a recession. Sort of. Of course, if you do not know what you are doing, then you will lose more money in the long run, and it won’t help you to accomplish your financial goals any time soon. Before rushing to invest all your hard earned cash, it’s time to brush up on the basics of what investing really is. The first thing to remember is that if you have the extra money to pay brokerage houses, then by all means, go for it. But do not get sidetracked by their advice, because they are in the business to make money, and when you foolishly listen to their bad advice, you will lose out—not them. However, if you do not have the extra money, as most people today, then you will need to learn how to invest on your own. Contrary to popular opinion, you do not need a business or finance degree to learn how to invest properly.

Investing Basics

The popular opinion today about investing is that you buy and sell as quickly as possible to get the maximum amount of money that you can. However, this is a bad idea due to the fact that the market is very volatile, and you never know when you are going to be able to make more if you were to hold on to the stock. Therefore, by holding on to your stocks and letting them mature, you will be able to earn more money than if you were to follow popular advice. If you were to follow the popular investing advice, you may need to take out more personal loans than you are able to cover, so do not follow this strategy. Also, one has to wonder—why is this particular advice popular? Is it to help the brokers make more money on your trades?

The Warren Buffett Way

Ever wonder how Warren Buffett made his billions? Starting successful businesses were one way, yes…but it was his method of investing that gave him his head start in life. See, he would properly research a company, look for solid growth and development, and then buy stocks in that company. But rather than sell right away, he would hold on to the stocks for the long term. And that is what you need to do if you want to succeed with investing in the stock market.

Research! Research! Research!

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There are several things you should look for when researching a company to invest in. Unfortunately, there is not enough room here to talk about them all. (Look for other articles covering this topic soon!) The most important thing you should look for when researching a company, however, is growth. If a company is continuously expanding and growing, and their assets are more than enough to cover their liabilities, then make sure you take out a personal loan and invest in that company, because you are going to make back more than you put in.