Billionaires Give Money Away to Charity

The $600 billion challenge

Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett are asking the nation's billionaires to pledge to give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death. If their campaign succeeds, it could change the face of philanthropy.

Flying cross-country in March, Bill Gates stopped in Omaha to lunch near the airport with Warren Buffett at a Hollywood Diner, giving it a small place in history as one venue where the two made plans for their drive to boost giving. Buffett paid for lunch. Click on the photo for more pictures.

By Carol J. Loomis, senior editor-at-large
FORTUNE -- Just over a year ago, in May 2009, word leaked to the press that the two richest men in America, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, had organized and presided over a confidential dinner meeting of billionaires in New York City. David Rockefeller was said to have been a host, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Oprah Winfrey to have been among those attending, and philanthropy to have been the main subject.
Pushed by the press to explain, Buffett and Gates declined. But that certainly didn't dim the media's interest in reaching for descriptions of the meeting: The Chronicle of Philanthropy called it "unprecedented"; both ABC News and the Houston Chronicle went for "clandestine"; a New York magazine parody gleefully imagined George Soros to have been starstruck in the presence of Oprah. One radio broadcaster painted a dark picture: "Ladies and gentlemen, there's mischief afoot and it does not bode well for the rest of us." No, no, rebutted the former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Patty Stonesifer, who had been at the meeting and had reluctantly emerged to combat the rumors. The event, she told the Seattle Times, was simply a group of friends and colleagues "discussing ideas" about philanthropy.

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Chilean Officials Travel to the Kotel to Thank Hashem for the Miracle

Chilean MPs Give Thanks at Kotel

Cheshvan 9, 5771, 17 October 10 10:15

by by Maayana Miskin

(Israelnationalnews.com) Last week, people around the world watched as 33 Chilean miners were rescued after being trapped underground for more than two months. On Sunday, five Chilean MPs were in Israel to give thanks at the Western Wall (Kotel) for the amazing rescue.
The parliamentary delegation was accompanied by leading figures in the Chilean Jewish community.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich, the rabbi of the Western Wall, greeted the delegation in his office and told them that the Jewish people took joy in the miners' rescue. He and the visitors said a prayer together.
The visiting MPs spoke of their country's warm ties to Israel, and of Chile's flourishing Jewish community.
Last week, Chilean Jewish mining executive Leonardo Farkas gave each of the 33 miners a check for $10,000. Farkas is known in Chile for his philanthropy.
The newly rescued miners have received other gifts as well, along with offers of possible book and film deals. The men may need their newfound fame to get by, as the mine they worked for has shut down to deal with safety issues.