Oprah Winfrey Joins World's Richest Philanthropists For Secret Meeting

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
May 20th 2009 at 8:01PM

How would you like to be a fly on the wall for this event, a secret meeting of some of the world's biggest givers? On May 5, Bill Gates, David Rockefeller Sr., Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffet and other leading philanthropists met in New York to discuss the world's problems. The high-profile confab was organized by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Details of what the group discussed have not been made public but according to IrishCentral.com, each philanthropist was given 15 minutes to talk about their view of the future and how the team, which has donated billions to charitable causes, can help at a time when charity donations are falling. What is particularly compelling about the group assembled, which also reportedly included Eli Broad and Michael Bloomberg, is that most of them have their own foundation and areas of focus when it comes to philanthropy. I can't help but imagine this meeting as some sort of Justice League scenario complete with flapping capes. Sounds more compelling than any summer blockbuster.

Tags: bill gates, BillGates, oprah winfrey, OprahWinfrey, warren buffett, WarrenBuffett

Filed under: Big Givers, Wealth

Source

Subscribe to these comments

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

BlogHog May 20th 2009 9:30PM

No doubt these people were talking about people outside the U.S.A.
Why?
Because that is where they are changing the dollars into other currencies and spending those "charitable $".

Justin May 20th 2009 9:59PM

these people are probably very clueless in whats reality. Their guess is just as good as everyone else's guess on what the world really need right now.

Larry Ellison is the smartest celebrity billionaire so far, he understand making frivilous donations are truly a waste of money.

Andy May 20th 2009 11:44PM

Deidre,

I'm curious why you chose to highlight Oprah when the meeting is about the "wealthiest" people. Of which, The Gates and Warren Buffett are much wealthier. If it was just Oprah, then the focus on her is understandable. But Oprah was a tiny part of a much greater whole.

Eve May 21st 2009 12:16AM

Did you read the post? The meeting is NOT ABOUT the wealthiest people. The meeting gathered some of the WEALTHIEST PHILANTHROPISTS to discuss some super secret sauce they're cooking up for us poor folk.

YES, Oprah Winfrey is not only ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY but she is also a philanthropist. You can spin that and choose disagree based on your opinion. The facts are she is one of the wealthiest people in this nation. That is why she was invited, by presumably the likes of Bill Gates, to partake in this meeting.

I know it's hard for a lot of people to see women, and especially women of color, in such powerful positions these days and being included in things that traditionally only involve wealthy white men. Deep breaths, Andy.

Jason@realsoftware.com May 21st 2009 11:24AM

Yeah, relax Andy. My guess is that Oprah is the most recognizable person to the readers of this blog.

cronn May 21st 2009 1:23PM

Can you say Bilderberg?

just me May 22nd 2009 10:34AM

I love Bilderberg conspiracy stuff. Fascinating. Where is that documentary I saw once on the organization?

christine May 22nd 2009 6:09PM

I am a great fan of Oprah since ever, I am now 55 years old close to Oprah's age and yet I am always in awe of how she beats the odds! Dear Oprah, if you receive this message, don't forget the millions of very poor children, living off garbage and in a state of abandonment in Peru. I believe the US also has to address their backdoor if you know what I mean, i.e. Mexico, which thanks to Hillary Clinton is already being addressed, but the rest of Latin America as well! There are so many young girls who have been raped, abused and undermined thanks to the macho man in South America that it is frankly too hard to fathom. My dream since childhood (15 years old) was to form an orphanage but run and managed in the right way, not with stealing nurses, governments who want to take over, etc. Unfortunately, I have already had a long life making the best for my own children (two) one of whom is a fully fledged architect working in Ireland and the other my daughter is still at school, but extremely oblivious of what is going on around her, in social terms, so I really have no idea of how I am to accomplish my lifelong dream of creating a well run and honest orphanage in Peru. If you have any ideas or wish to join me in my dream, so be it.

Otherwise, my heart goes out to you, because I know you make this world a better place and that is what this life is all about!!