Media Center

For Immediate Release
July 1, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – In an unprecedented collaboration between two massive private foundations, Warren Buffett donated $30 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This bold statement sends a clear message to other captains of industry, business owners and philanthropists that the private sector has a clear responsibility to take charge of social issues around the world.

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation works to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world. In developing countries, it focuses on improving health, reducing extreme poverty, and increasing access to technology in public libraries. In the United States, the foundation seeks to ensure that all people have access to a great education and to technology in public libraries.

“This is great news for all who are working in the charitable marketplace,” said Michael Nelson, CEO of Vasa Valley Companies and founder of The Foundation Network. “Clearly, this event has put a flag in the ground and set the standard for other industry leaders to contemplate their legacies. The donation to the Gates Foundation from Warren Buffett presents an enormous opportunity to leverage their assets and to create a powerful impact that will surely be felt around the world.”

The transfer of wealth from Buffett to the Gates Foundation is a strong illustration of the $45 trillion dollars that is transferring from the current senior generation to the baby boomers. The Foundation Network is a wealth enhancement and preservation company that provides education, training and wealth development services. For people who are part of this transfer of wealth trend, The Foundation Network offers services and support to manage and preserve assets and legacies.

The Foundation Network’s long term goal is to educate and support the general public about the personal and collaborative power that charitable public operating non-profits can have on any community. There is a growing movement on the part of government to encourage the private sector to help solve social needs and problems at the local level. The Foundation Network is proud to support the movement of charitable entrepreneurs throughout the world.

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