5 Questions For…
Doug Bauer, Senior Vice President, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Philanthropy News Digest, 6/30/06
Doug Bauer is a senior vice president at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, an independent nonprofit service that provides research and counsel on charitable giving, develops philanthropy programs, and offers complete program, administrative and management services for foundations and trusts. PND spoke with Bauer a few days after Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett announced that he will donate the bulk of his $44 billion fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Philanthropy News Digest: Warren Buffett’s gift to the Gates Foundation has been described as “historic” and “unprecedented.” Is that an accurate characterization?
Doug Bauer: It is. Mr. Buffett’s gift is unprecedented in its size and structure, as well as in the fact that it is going to substantially increase the grantmaking of someone else’s foundation. It was also a selfless act, and a very smart move on his part.
PND: Why do you think Buffett chose to do this now?
DB: From everything I’ve read and heard, I think there were two reasons. First, it was his expectation that his late wife, Susan, would outlive him and be responsible for the family’s philanthropy. When she passed away in 2004, Mr. Buffett needed to rethink the original plan for their charitable giving. Second, and on a parallel track, he developed a meaningful relationship with Bill and then with Melinda Gates. In the process — and this is a key point — he came to respect and trust their approach to philanthropy. He admires their stewardship of the Gates Foundation and how they approach and attack the problems they have chosen to address. In the end, I think it was the convergence of these two dynamics that led him to make his extraordinary gift.