Most compassionate person ever?

[GePap]

Saint Ignatius. There must be one of these.

[Ben Kenobi]

Saint Ignatius.

Who's he?

[GePap]

Don't know..a saint, of course.

Are you questioning his sainthood?

[Ben Kenobi]

Nope. I don't know much about Saint Ignatius. Part of the idea of the thread is to know more about these paragons of virtue.

[Sava]

me

[Dis]

Ghandi? I don't know much about the guy, but I've heard good things.

But for all I know he was into bukkake or bondage or something . You never truelly know about a person.

[GePap]

Originally posted by obiwan18
Nope. I don't know much about Saint Ignatius. Part of the idea of the thread is to know more about these paragons of virtue.

Has anyone provided more than a name?

Bend to the will of Saint Ignatius the compassionate..OR ELSE

[JohnT]

Asher? Your selection would be Bill Gates, obviously.

I'd vote for myself, but it is true that Mr. Gates has given more in philantropy than any human in history, (adjusted for inflation or not). So he gets my vote as well.

And I'm not joking - his endowment to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation exceeds $24 billion.

[orange]

For a rich man to give a dollar is not as compassionate as it is for a poor man to give a quarter.

[JohnT]

Here's some examples:

Illustrative Grant Commitments

The Vaccine Fund, www.vaccinefund.org – $750 million

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, www.iavi.org – $126.5 million

Gates Millennium Scholars Program, United Negro College Fund, www.uncf.org – $1 billion

Knowledgeworks Foundation, www.kwfdn.org – $20 million

The Network of Public Libraries for the New Millennium Project, Chile – $9.28 million

United Way of King County, Seattle WA, www.uwkc.org – $55 million

[JohnT]

Originally posted by orange
For a rich man to give a dollar is not as compassionate as it is for a poor man to give a quarter.

A more banal and unproductive comment could not have been made. Congratulations!

[Dr Strangelove]

No, it's me, I am the epitome of compassion incarnate. There I got that off of my chest and I'm glad that I did. I won't blame you if you hate me for it, just so long as you respect me.

[Asher]

JohnT: Yup.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2696263.stm

Billionaires have a responsibility to harness their riches for good of society, Bill Gates, the world's richest person, has told world leaders.

Mr Gates, worth some $50bn, urged "everyone to be philanthropic".

"Every day we can do so," he said.

But he said wealth on his scale came with a demand to "make sure it goes back to global society in the most impactful way".
"There is a certain responsibility that accrued to me when I got to this unexpected position," Mr Gates, founder and chairman of software giant Microsoft, said.

The comments came as he revealed that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a $24bn charity founded two years ago, was targeting $200m at the "grand challenges" facing global health.

The announcement was made at the World Economic Forum's annual summit of political, business and social leaders in Davos, Switzerland, an event which this year has placed particular emphasis this year on executives' behaviour.

Research ideas

The initiative will see a 20-strong committee, led by Nobel prize winner Dr Harold Varmus, identify health problems which remain unsolved despite the medical advances, and accelerate research in promising areas.

Action targets could include finding ways to block the reappearance of latent tuberculosis, or to prevent mosquitos transmitting diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

Mr Gates cited the development of vaccines which could be stored at room temperature, allowing preventative treatment in areas without refrigerators.

"In some cases, different vaccines require different temperatures, so you have to have two refrigerators in a delivery area," he added.

The grand challenge programme, which follows the foundation's grant in November of $100m to fight HIV/Aids in India, was welcomed by US Health Secretary Tommy Thompson as "great for mankind".

"What a wonderful human being you are," Mr Thompson told Mr Gates. "I thank you for your generosity."

Also see: http://www.techweb.com/tech/opinion_mad/20030314_mad

[Lorizael]

Originally posted by Dissident
Ghandi? I don't know much about the guy, but I've heard good things.

But for all I know he was into bukkake or bondage or something . You never truelly know about a person.

Actually, when he began his crusade to save India and the world, he gave up sex - without talking to his wife about it.

[orange]

A more banal and unproductive comment could not have been made. Congratulations!

I have nothing against Bill Gates really, and applaud his charitable donations. I think it's a great thing, and a very respectable thing for a man with his wealth to do. But I think it is more compassionate for someone with next to nothing to help someone less fortunate than for someone with everything to help someone less fortunate. That is why I would go with some of the other people mentioned than Bill Gates. That's all.