BBC 6分钟英语 放弃你的财富

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BBC, learning English. Hello, and welcome to Six Minute English.

I'm Neal, and I'm saving Sophie.

I can't get out of my head.

What Mark Zuckerberg, you know, the guy who created Facebook, said recently, oh, I know, he pledged or made a serious promise, to give away 99% of his shares in

Facebook over the course of his lifetime.

The shares are currently worth around $45 billion.

Why, oh why did he decide to give his fortune away?

It's puzzling me. It's an act of philanthropy, which means helping others, especially by giving large amounts of money to good causes.

And philanthropy is the subject of this show.

But don't worry about Zuckerberg. It's probably fair to say he will remain extremely well off, all wealthy, even after giving away his fortune.

Well, that's true. Let me ask you then today's quiz question Who was the most generous philanthropist in the US last year?

Was it a Bill Gates? B Mark Zuckerberg, or see Warren Buffet?

I'm going to say, see Warren Buffett.

Well, we'll find out if you will write or not later on in the show.

Now, zuckerberg was inspired to give away his fortune by the birth of his daughter Max, in a letter to Max posted on Facebook.

In his post, he talks about using the money to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation.

Equality, in other words, with the same rights and opportunities.

Zuckerberg is the latest in a long line of billionaire entrepreneurs to turn philanthropists and use his money for good causes.

Did you know that some of the earliest American philanthropists were Robert Barons?

Robert Baron? What? What's Hang on?

What a Robber Barons their business people who use unethical or morally wrong business tactics to gain large personal fortunes.

19th century entrepreneurs like Rockefeller, carnegie and Ford were Robert barons.

They built up huge empires in industry, oil, steel, railways and cars, and were largely responsible for transforming the United States from an agricultural nation into an industrial one.

Henry Ford, he's the one who said, you can have any color you want, as long as it's black.

I like that focus, neil. But as the barons got older, they decided they wanted to give back to society, and turned to philanthropy.

Andrew Connegie believes that wealth should be spent to make the world a better place.

That sounds too warm and fuzzy for a roofless or cruel rubber baron people change.

Neil when he died, carnegie had given away a total of $350000000 to the state to spend on public works.

That's around billion in today's money.

Well, let's listen to Hugh Cunningham, a professor of history at the University of kent here in the UK.

He talks about what the average Joe, that's you and me folks, thinks about big business and philanthropy Today, the very word philanthropy does not necessarily have 100% positive connotations for the public large, given where we are in terms of the public's attitudes towards big business or the banks and all that kind of stuff.

So I think it's in everyone's interest to try and broaden out the concept of philanthropy into a wider notion of giving, make a contribution, making a difference.

Yes, banks and big businesses can easily afford to give away millions of dollars for the public good if they choose to.

And it's not so easy when you're an individual struggling to pay the rent that's right now.

But a lot of people in the UK are super rich compared to those in the developing world, and we can make a big difference by donating or giving small amounts of money to help improve their lives.

And that's what Professor cunning A means when he says we should broaden out the notion or idea or philanthropy.

It's not only Robert Barons who can afford to be philanthropic.

Let's listen to Toby Ord, a graduate student from Oxford University, talking about how he makes a difference.

I worked out that over my life, I'd be able to earn about one and a half million pounds.

And this I could maintain my current standard of living as a graduate student and still donate about a million pounds of that.

So Toby actually gives away any money that he earns above 18000 lb.

A year. He feels that he doesn't need more than this amount to maintain his standard of living.

I'm impressed by Toby s pledge, but I don't think I could live like a student my whole life.

I thought that would suit you extremely well, neil.

Now, why didn't you give us

the answer to today's quiz question?

I asked who was the most generous philanthropist in the US last year?

Was it a Bill Gates, b Mark Zuckerberg, or C Warren Buffet?

I said, warren Buffet. Good guess, sophie, well done.

Buffet, who made his $73000000000 fortune from investments, donated billion to charity in 2014, bringing his lifetime total to almost $23 billion.

According to Forbes, it's a tidy sum, and that means a large number.

OK, let's hear those words again, sophie.

Here they are. Pledged philanthropy, well off, human potential, equality, unethical, ruthless.

Average Joe donating a tiny sum.

Well, that's the end of today.

Six minute English. Please join us again soon.

Good Bye. Bye, bye.

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