Billionaires Give Away $1.2B While They're Still Alive

When Craig and Di Winkler sat down with a spreadsheet to calculate "how much is enough," they made a decision that shocked the genteel world of philanthropy.

The software mogul and his wife decided to give away $1.2 billion in a decade, spending down their entire Yajilarra trust by December 2029. They're not alone in believing our problems are too urgent for slow, steady giving.

Tracy Norman puts it bluntly: "Get over yourselves." The daughter of Harvey Norman co-founder Ian Norman has no patience for foundations designed to last forever. Her family is spending roughly $100 million over 10 years through the Ian and Shirley Norman Foundation, giving away 30 to 40 percent annually.

"Quite frankly unless we are dealing with the wicked problems now, we have no future," Norman says. "It needs to be well spent, it needs to have an impact."

The debate erupted when Australia's federal government raised the minimum foundation distribution rate from 5 to 6 percent in February. That single percentage point sits on a philosophical chasm: should you preserve wealth across generations, or deploy it rapidly while you can witness the impact?

For Robin Khuda, the answer was clear. The entrepreneur came to Australia from Bangladesh with his parents' life savings covering just two semesters of university. He worked as a kitchen hand, sharing a two-bedroom Westmead flat with six others while grinding through his degree.

When he sold his data center empire AirTrunk for $24 billion last year, he'd already spent two years planning how to give back. His first move: a $100 million gift to the University of Sydney targeting kids from Western Sydney, just like him.

"Kids in Western Sydney are naturally disadvantaged compared to those from the north shore or the eastern suburbs," Khuda explains. The gift funds STEM programs starting in Year 7 and scholarships for 300 women in undergraduate science.

Why This Inspires

Di Winkler describes the liberation that came from their decision. "There is a quiet freedom in realizing you have enough," she says. "By choosing not to chase more wealth, we've unlocked the joy of being present to witness the impact of our giving while we are still here to see it."

Their philosophy echoes Irish-American billionaire Chuck Feeney, who secretly gave away $8 billion in his lifetime, inspiring Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to launch the Giving Pledge. Feeney's charity only became public when he sold his duty-free empire with just $2 million left to his name.

The Winklers believe a dollar invested in charity hands today beats decades in an endowment. When your house is burning, Craig says, you don't want one fire truck dripping water slowly across years.

These philanthropists are proving that the greatest wealth might not be what you keep, but what you give while you're alive to see it spark change.