Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
NEW DELHI, INDIA, September 29, 2010: : For a few months now, Bill and Melinda Gates and have been wining and dining with the world’s richest, gently persuading over 40 US billionaires to pledge at least half of their wealth to fix the world’s ills. But no one from has yet been able to match that generosity. Very few have even shown an inclination to do so.
At least one Indian billionaire, Shiv Nadar, has taken a first step and is now daring others of his ilk to start making a meaningful contribution to society. The technology czar has committed to put aside well over 10% of his wealth for philanthropic ventures. These ventures, under the Shiv Nadar Foundation, span building and running free schools, a proposed university and a museum of art.
Mr. Nadar has been influenced by the deep philanthropic resolve of the Gates couple and Buffett, the world’s richest people, both of whom have pledged almost their entire wealth for charity. “My wife and I spent a whole evening with them (Bill and Melinda) and we talked about this,” he says. “When Buffett dies, there will only be a stone. It shows a very different aspect of life, about people and how they care.”