My plan in 2010 was/is to read 50 books this year. Annie, my wife and avid reader, and I decided to unplug our television antenna (DVDs only) to help in this. Well, that plan was effectively derailed after I foolishly decided to embark upon Warren Buffett's 93,000 page biography entitled "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life." While other books have been written about Buffett, none have been so thorough in detail, as this one was uniquely appointed by Buffett to be written. He gives the author, Alice Schroeder, the interesting permission, "When writing this book, if you ever come across two accounts of the same story, use the less flattering one."
What struck me, among other things (like his live-in mistress
whom his wife approved of), was his extreme frugality. It seems like in his mind, his frugal spending habits are purpose-full. His thinking is that every dollar he has will be 100 someday -- and amazingly, he accomplished this over and over -- so it's foolish to spend or even give away the $1. But you get the sense that he isn't uncharitable, it's just that he's into this "delayed" charity, or "invested" charity, where he'd be able to give it all away someday. And impressively, he DOES end up giving away billions of dollars as many of you know about. Characteristic of Buffett, he does it strategically (off the top of my memory, it's something like $5 billion a year from his company, Berkshire Hathaway, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).
I only know one person (like, that I've talked to) who was a very successful investor and regular churchgoer named Charles Park. He has his PhD in economics from MIT, and now pastors a Vineyard church with his wife in New York. I guess I'm drawn to long-term investors because they seem to be really savvy when it comes to being strategic with their resources. The question for these people isn't, "Where should I invest my time, energy, and money?", rather it's, "Where would I best invest my time, energy, and money?"
On a recent church trip I had the privilege of sitting around a table with 6 other men twice my age, only two of whom I knew. When I discovered they all had kids, I decided to pop the question, "Besides your faith, what would you all say is the single most important thing you want your kids to know about?" Five of them looked at me and said almost in unison, "Money."
So I turn to you. Have you, like Buffett, found any benefit in giving money away, either in tithe-form or to other people or charity? How so? Do you have any stories of how this has played out for you?
What struck me, among other things (like his live-in mistress
whom his wife approved of), was his extreme frugality. It seems like in his mind, his frugal spending habits are purpose-full. His thinking is that every dollar he has will be 100 someday -- and amazingly, he accomplished this over and over -- so it's foolish to spend or even give away the $1. But you get the sense that he isn't uncharitable, it's just that he's into this "delayed" charity, or "invested" charity, where he'd be able to give it all away someday. And impressively, he DOES end up giving away billions of dollars as many of you know about. Characteristic of Buffett, he does it strategically (off the top of my memory, it's something like $5 billion a year from his company, Berkshire Hathaway, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation).I only know one person (like, that I've talked to) who was a very successful investor and regular churchgoer named Charles Park. He has his PhD in economics from MIT, and now pastors a Vineyard church with his wife in New York. I guess I'm drawn to long-term investors because they seem to be really savvy when it comes to being strategic with their resources. The question for these people isn't, "Where should I invest my time, energy, and money?", rather it's, "Where would I best invest my time, energy, and money?"
On a recent church trip I had the privilege of sitting around a table with 6 other men twice my age, only two of whom I knew. When I discovered they all had kids, I decided to pop the question, "Besides your faith, what would you all say is the single most important thing you want your kids to know about?" Five of them looked at me and said almost in unison, "Money."
So I turn to you. Have you, like Buffett, found any benefit in giving money away, either in tithe-form or to other people or charity? How so? Do you have any stories of how this has played out for you?
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