According to Lao Tzu: "He who speaks does not know. Who knows does not speak. "
Today, reflecting on this, I think of my Uncle Steve, Dad's best friend from my childhood in Milwaukee.
is one of the most powerful families in our state. The theater was built by Milwaukee a gift from my Uncle Steve. " The same donated outdoor amphitheater for 40 thousand people on the side of Lake Michigan. 15 years ago, when the Museum of Fine Arts in Milwaukee needed to expand, my uncle put together a business peer group and told them: "We all have more than they need to be happy. We guarantee the safety of our children and grandchildren. We gain nothing with being the richest in the cemetery. It's time to give back to our community. "
It took 8 years to complete the work. But the new building, "the bird glass" designed by Santiago Calatrava, has become an icon largest U.S. architectural My uncle Steve
I marked not only by his generosity, but by his personality. He understood perfectly well the weight that bore his name in Milwaukee. But did not want his children were not "believed" or arrogant. The "uncle" is austere, simple, grateful, happy.
Back in Lao Tzu. We return to Chile.
In 1960, the young Ricardo Lagos Escobar graduated from the University of Chile, thanks to his thesis: "The Concentration of Economic Power." The work concluded that: The economic history of Chile (1810-1960), the names of the families rich tend to repeat.
50 years later, it is worth revisiting this hypothesis because, in recent years, the Chilean business world has undergone a spectacular renovation. Today, more than half, almost two thirds-of Chile's wealthiest families have less than 3 generations.
In Chile, the rich today are not the rich of yesteryear.
What does it matter? Mucha. Well, studies show that the new wealth have a different psychological profile of him in the fortunes old. Are most grateful. Less arrogant. More philanthropic. More involved. Just think of Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. It is no coincidence that our new president is in possession of a first-generation wealth.
Valparaiso History confirms this hypothesis. According to "The philanthropic history of Chile", published by the Pro Human Foundation in 1999, 8 of the 10 largest donations in history occurred in Valparaiso, Chile. Do the donors? The Ross family, Edwards, Brown, Santa Maria, and Van Buren. All immigrants. All built his fortune in the moment of his greatest generosity.
So, Are we, today, on the verge of a new golden age for philanthropy Chilean?
Maybe. But there to talk less and do more. Wealth, "go inside" said Lao Tzu, man remembered with a plaque humble, austere, visited by crowds.
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