I have been reflecting a lot lately. My reflections wander in various paths but particularly on money and the strong endless need to acquire it. From a personal viewpoint, money has always been a tool of comfortability hence the need for us to work hard so we can have more than enough, so much so that we can help others. One of my long-term ambitions is to do 'heavyweight charity' as my Pastor would put it.
Amidst my involvement in charitable causes of late, I have come to see that it is very easy to effect positive change right from where you are standing, even with what you have. Everyone has something of intrinsic value to give.
This noon, as I sat down behind my desk, I tried inspiring myself with people who have allowed GOD to use them for heavyweight charity. Two of them, very remarkable persons struck me real hard and I feel inclined to adulate them.
CHARLES FRANCIS FEENEY
He is often referred to as the “James Bond of philanthropy.” He made his fortune as a co-founder of the Duty-Free Shoppers Group. His life's ambition was to give away his entire fortune, when he made it. He has a current net worth of just $1.5 million, after already donating well over $6.3 billion to various charities. His foundations support education, science, healthcare, and civil rights across several countries.
SULAIMAN BIN ABDUL AZIZ AL RAJHI
Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz co-founded Al Rajhi Bank in 1957 with his three brothers. The bank has grown into one of the largest Islamic banks in the world. The Al Rajhi family is considered to be among Saudi Arabia’s richest non-royal family. In 2011, Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi announced that he was donating most of his then $7.7 billion fortune to charity. So far, he has donated over $5.7 billion.
It requires massive faith to be able to live like this. I aspire to be like these men, so help me GOD.
True wealth is in how many lives you have been able to touch and not how many zillions you have stashed in your bank foreign bank accounts. I leave you with the words of American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie: “No man can become rich without himself enriching others. The man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
Amidst my involvement in charitable causes of late, I have come to see that it is very easy to effect positive change right from where you are standing, even with what you have. Everyone has something of intrinsic value to give.
This noon, as I sat down behind my desk, I tried inspiring myself with people who have allowed GOD to use them for heavyweight charity. Two of them, very remarkable persons struck me real hard and I feel inclined to adulate them.
CHARLES FRANCIS FEENEY
SULAIMAN BIN ABDUL AZIZ AL RAJHI
Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz co-founded Al Rajhi Bank in 1957 with his three brothers. The bank has grown into one of the largest Islamic banks in the world. The Al Rajhi family is considered to be among Saudi Arabia’s richest non-royal family. In 2011, Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi announced that he was donating most of his then $7.7 billion fortune to charity. So far, he has donated over $5.7 billion.
It requires massive faith to be able to live like this. I aspire to be like these men, so help me GOD.
True wealth is in how many lives you have been able to touch and not how many zillions you have stashed in your bank foreign bank accounts. I leave you with the words of American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie: “No man can become rich without himself enriching others. The man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
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