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Jim Lange: Grant Oliphant is the President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation.
Grant Oliphant: You know, there’s a reason that so many of the people who have made enormous wealth over the course of the last few decades through the information revolution and through the internet and all of the innovations that we’ve seen, people from Bill Gates on have decided at the end of their lives to devote their lives to philanthropy, and trying to change the world around them, and it’s because it’s immensely, immensely satisfying.
Obviously, making money was satisfying for them, too, but having done that, to be able to turn to charity is a wonderful thing for them, and we see it every single day. Even with people who don’t make that life choice, to be able to give means a lot. You know, this challenge that’s out there right now from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to the billionaires of the world to give away half of their wealth is a wonderful sort of challenge, but, you know, my message to our community is, you don’t have to be a billionaire to get the happiness that comes from giving. I’m not sure that all of us are in a position to give away half of our wealth, but we’re all in a position to give away something, and the satisfaction that comes from that is enormous.