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Getting results from charities is hard. Bill Gates quit his job to solely focus on this. Warren Buffet pledged all his money to Gates because he doesn't think
by jcampbell1 15y ago
Getting results from charities is hard. Bill Gates quit his job to solely focus on this. Warren Buffet pledged all his money to Gates because he doesn't think he would be particularly good at it.
My point is, why pledge earnings rather than wealth? I think pledging earnings is risky, and the world is better off because Warren Buffet did not do it.
- rdl 15y agoa16z isn't short on LP money. This is basically money which would traditionally be spent on consumption by GPs (since they can't invest outside the fund, and 50% of crazy upside is more than enough to buy their stakes in the next fund). Even if you view this as pure consumption, I respect Ben Horowitz more for a $100mm charity contribution than adding an extra $100mm extension to his house. Due to how the funds are structured, it is different for a VC to donate carry/management fees vs. someone like Warren Buffet to liquidate equity to donate to charity.
- pmarca 15y agoSorry, we did not intend to draw that distinction. I described this in detail in another comment, but we made a commitment of half of lifetime earnings/wealth/whatever you want to call it from venture capital to nonprofits, over our lifetimes. So there's no presumption that each year we give half, as opposed to at some later date.