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June 17, 1999
Giving

High-tech millionaires often unwilling to give

The new wave of millionaires from the booming high-tech industry around Washington, D.C. often are reluctant to share their wealth with nonprofits, the Baltimore Sun reported June 14.

Many nonprofits wanting to tap into the new wealth are frustrated with this lack of giving and told the newspaper they wish more would follow in the footsteps of the Rockefellers, Carnegies or even Microsoft's Bill Gates, now one of the world's top philanthropists.

"We know there's a lot of high-tech growth here, but we haven't seen that reflected in dollar terms," Kate Conover, vice president of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, told the Sun. "I don't think there's a single answer as to why they're not giving. They haven't thought about it yet and they haven't felt the need."

Michael J. Saylor, Microstrategy CEO, said young entrepreneurs -- who often become millionaires virtually overnight -- don't trust their own success and are afraid of losing their new fortunes.

Another problem is that tech entrepreneurs are bombarded with requests from nonprofits and just aren't sure where to put their money, said Mario Morino, founder of the Morino Institute.

Some entrepreneurs are generous philanthropists now, while others are expected to become more philanthropic in the future, the Sun reported.

Full text of the article is currently found at:
http://www.sunspot.net/cgi-bin/editorial/story.cgi?
section=archive&storyid;=1150090204159



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