05-27-2009, 05:57 PM
From The Sunday Times, May 24, 2009, John Harlow, Los Angeles
SOME of Americaââ¬â¢s leading billionaires have met secretly to [color="#0000ff"]consider how their wealth could be used to slow the growth of the worldââ¬â¢s population[/color] and speed up improvements in health and education. The [color="#0000ff"]philanthropists[/color] who attended a summit convened [color="#0000ff"]on the initiative of Bill Gates[/color], the Microsoft co-founder, discussed [color="#0000ff"]joining forces to overcome[/color] political and religious [color="#0000ff"]obstacles to change[/color].
[color="#0000ff"]
Described as the Good Club by one insider it included David Rockefeller Jr, the patriarch of Americaââ¬â¢s wealthiest dynasty, Warren Buffett and George Soros, the financiers, Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, and the media moguls Ted Turner and Oprah Winfrey. [/color]
These members, along with Gates, have [color="#0000ff"]given away more than ã45 billion[/color] since 1996 to causes ranging from health programmes in developing countries to ghetto schools nearer to home.
They gathered at the home of Sir Paul Nurse, a British Nobel prize biochemist and president of the private Rockefeller University, in Manhattan on May 5. [color="#0000ff"]The informal[/color] afternoon [color="#0000ff"]session was so discreet[/color] that some of the billionairesââ¬â¢ aides were told they were at ââ¬Åsecurity briefingsââ¬Â.
[color="#0000ff"]Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, said the summit was unprecedented[/color]. ââ¬ÅWe [color="#0000ff"]only learnt about it[/color] afterwards, [color="#0000ff"]by accident[/color]. Normally these people are happy to talk good causes, but this is different ââ¬â maybe because [color="#0000ff"]they donââ¬â¢t want to be seen as a global cabal[/color],ââ¬Â he said.
Some details were emerging this weekend, however. The billionaires were each given 15 minutes to present their favourite cause. Over dinner they discussed how they might settle on an ââ¬Åumbrella causeââ¬Â that could harness their interests.
The issues debated included reforming the supervision of overseas aid spending to setting up rural schools and water systems in developing countries. [color="#0000ff"]Taking their cue from Gates they agreed that overpopulation was a priority.[/color]
This could result in a [color="#0000ff"]challenge to some Third World politicians[/color] who believe contraception and female education weaken traditional values.
[color="#0000ff"]Gates[/color], 53, who is giving away most of his fortune, [color="#0000ff"]argued that healthier families[/color], freed from malaria and extreme poverty, [color="#0000ff"]would change their habits and have fewer children within half a generation[/color].
At a conference in Long Beach, California, last February, he had made similar points. ââ¬ÅOfficial projections say the worldââ¬â¢s population will peak at 9.3 billion [up from 6.6 billion today] but with charitable initiatives, such as better reproductive healthcare, we think we can cap that at 8.3 billion,ââ¬Â Gates said then.
Patricia Stonesifer, former chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which gives more than ã2 billion a year to good causes, attended the Rockefeller summit. She said the billionaires met to ââ¬Ådiscuss how to increase givingââ¬Â and they intended to ââ¬Åcontinue the dialogueââ¬Â over the next few months.
Another guest said there was ââ¬Ånothing as crude as a voteââ¬Â but [color="#0000ff"]a consensus emerged that they would back a strategy in which population growth would be tackled as a potentially disastrous environmental, social and industrial threat[/color].
ââ¬ÅThis is something so nightmarish that [color="#0000ff"]everyone in this group agreed it needs big-brain answers[/color],ââ¬Â said the guest. ââ¬Å[color="#0000ff"]They need to be independent of government agencies[/color], which are unable to head off the disaster we all see looming.ââ¬Â
[color="#0000ff"]Why all the secrecy? ââ¬ÅThey wanted to speak rich to rich without worrying anything they said would end up in the newspapers, painting them as an alternative world government[/color],ââ¬Â he said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...350303.ece
SOME of Americaââ¬â¢s leading billionaires have met secretly to [color="#0000ff"]consider how their wealth could be used to slow the growth of the worldââ¬â¢s population[/color] and speed up improvements in health and education. The [color="#0000ff"]philanthropists[/color] who attended a summit convened [color="#0000ff"]on the initiative of Bill Gates[/color], the Microsoft co-founder, discussed [color="#0000ff"]joining forces to overcome[/color] political and religious [color="#0000ff"]obstacles to change[/color].
[color="#0000ff"]
Described as the Good Club by one insider it included David Rockefeller Jr, the patriarch of Americaââ¬â¢s wealthiest dynasty, Warren Buffett and George Soros, the financiers, Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, and the media moguls Ted Turner and Oprah Winfrey. [/color]
These members, along with Gates, have [color="#0000ff"]given away more than ã45 billion[/color] since 1996 to causes ranging from health programmes in developing countries to ghetto schools nearer to home.
They gathered at the home of Sir Paul Nurse, a British Nobel prize biochemist and president of the private Rockefeller University, in Manhattan on May 5. [color="#0000ff"]The informal[/color] afternoon [color="#0000ff"]session was so discreet[/color] that some of the billionairesââ¬â¢ aides were told they were at ââ¬Åsecurity briefingsââ¬Â.
[color="#0000ff"]Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, said the summit was unprecedented[/color]. ââ¬ÅWe [color="#0000ff"]only learnt about it[/color] afterwards, [color="#0000ff"]by accident[/color]. Normally these people are happy to talk good causes, but this is different ââ¬â maybe because [color="#0000ff"]they donââ¬â¢t want to be seen as a global cabal[/color],ââ¬Â he said.
Some details were emerging this weekend, however. The billionaires were each given 15 minutes to present their favourite cause. Over dinner they discussed how they might settle on an ââ¬Åumbrella causeââ¬Â that could harness their interests.
The issues debated included reforming the supervision of overseas aid spending to setting up rural schools and water systems in developing countries. [color="#0000ff"]Taking their cue from Gates they agreed that overpopulation was a priority.[/color]
This could result in a [color="#0000ff"]challenge to some Third World politicians[/color] who believe contraception and female education weaken traditional values.
[color="#0000ff"]Gates[/color], 53, who is giving away most of his fortune, [color="#0000ff"]argued that healthier families[/color], freed from malaria and extreme poverty, [color="#0000ff"]would change their habits and have fewer children within half a generation[/color].
At a conference in Long Beach, California, last February, he had made similar points. ââ¬ÅOfficial projections say the worldââ¬â¢s population will peak at 9.3 billion [up from 6.6 billion today] but with charitable initiatives, such as better reproductive healthcare, we think we can cap that at 8.3 billion,ââ¬Â Gates said then.
Patricia Stonesifer, former chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which gives more than ã2 billion a year to good causes, attended the Rockefeller summit. She said the billionaires met to ââ¬Ådiscuss how to increase givingââ¬Â and they intended to ââ¬Åcontinue the dialogueââ¬Â over the next few months.
Another guest said there was ââ¬Ånothing as crude as a voteââ¬Â but [color="#0000ff"]a consensus emerged that they would back a strategy in which population growth would be tackled as a potentially disastrous environmental, social and industrial threat[/color].
ââ¬ÅThis is something so nightmarish that [color="#0000ff"]everyone in this group agreed it needs big-brain answers[/color],ââ¬Â said the guest. ââ¬Å[color="#0000ff"]They need to be independent of government agencies[/color], which are unable to head off the disaster we all see looming.ââ¬Â
[color="#0000ff"]Why all the secrecy? ââ¬ÅThey wanted to speak rich to rich without worrying anything they said would end up in the newspapers, painting them as an alternative world government[/color],ââ¬Â he said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/wo...350303.ece