Billionaire philanthropists have the potential to do more to ease poverty in Africa than the Group of Eight leading industrial nations, according to Jeffrey Sachs, special adviser to the United Nations secretary general.
Mr Sachs said the financial clout of businessmen such as Microsoft's Bill Gates and international investor Warren Buffett, who have pledged billions of dollars towards global development initiatives, could eclipse flagging governmental initiatives.
"The Rockefeller Foundation was the world's most important development institution of the 20th century, and the Gates Foundation can be that of the 21st century," he said.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was already the biggest charitable group in the world before Mr Buffett last year pledged to give it the bulk of his $40 billion-plus (€29 billion) fortune. If other, less wealthy individuals also contributed to a private sector foundation they could have significant impact on global development, Mr Sachs said.
"There are 950 billionaires whose wealth is estimated at $3.5 trillion.
"An annual 5 per cent foundation payout would be $175 billion per year - that would do it. Then we don't need the G8 but 950 people on the Forbes list," said Mr Sachs.
"Maybe private philanthropists will champion solutions to individual problems rather than the G8."
Mr Sachs was speaking as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported (OECD) last week that aid from rich countries to Africa was static last year even though G8 leaders promised in 2005 to spend $50 billion more each year to 2010.
- (Financial Times service)
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