Rise of a New Giving Elite

In the January/February 2011 issue of the Atlantic you'll find an essay by Chrystia Freeland titled "The Rise of the New Global Elite". I can recommend it if you have a strong stomach for hubris. According to Ms. Freeland, who has impressive creds, the very, very, very wealthy are not among us, they are floating somewhere very high up there, well beyond the stentch of our pathetic needs and desires. I'm only mildly exaggerating this. Anyway, of interest to us is the author's description of these Masters of the Universe coming to the realization that they have some sort of obligation to share their money with the rest of humanity. It's all the rage since the formation of the Gates/Buffett alliance, except these new foundations are being formed by people who are oddly, sadly out of touch. They are funded to support conclaves (like the one in Davos) or pet projects (like endowments for ski resorts). You see, these folks don't think our worthy causes are worthy enough for them. Read the article, it's alarming.