Financial Concerns Take Center Stage at Clinton Annual Gathering

By Ian Wilhelm

The former president Bill Clinton called on philanthropists meeting here last week to keep giving to charitable projects despite the deep financial problems facing America and the world.

At the opening of the three-day Clinton Global Initiative — a gathering of donors and others to discuss global issues — Mr. Clinton said that the news media have been repeatedly asking him: “Do you think people will stay home? Will people be worried about this economic crisis? Will people reduce their commitments or have less interest in this?”

“My belief is the purpose for which we have gathered — to enable more private citizens, through philanthropy, through nongovernmental work, to work in partnerships with governments to do public good — this purpose is going to be more important than ever in the next few years if there are economic conditions which prevent governments from giving as much as they otherwise would have,” he told the participants.

“I’m betting on you and people like you throughout the world to say that this crisis is not an excuse to walk away from the world’s challenges, but a compelling reason to intensify our efforts to meet them around the corner and around the world,” he added.

Bill Gates told attendees that, to encourage rich people to give during the financial crisis, “we have to show them it’s fun and there’s impact.”

During a one-on-one conversation with Mr. Clinton, the Microsoft Corporation co-founder said smart companies will continue to support charitable projects because those projects will help build future business opportunities in the developing world and help recruit talented people out of college.

“That type of activity will give them an edge,” he said.

Several participants at the conference echoed his comments.

Neville Isdell, chairman of the Coca-Cola Company, said that while America is at risk for a second Great Depression, his business will not end its efforts to support clean-water programs and other charitable work.

He said the economist Milton Friedman’s belief that companies should focus only on making money is an outdated model of business.

“It is last century,” he said.

Poverty and Climate

Every year at the Clinton Global Initiative, the former president brings together heads of state, corporate chief executives, and celebrities to discuss ways to fix global problems.

To attend the meeting, which this year focused on poverty alleviation, climate change and clean energy, education, and global health, Mr. Clinton said he requires each participant to make a charitable commitment.

People who don’t, won’t be invited back.

Several philanthropic projects were pledged at the start of the event.

• Lance Armstrong announced that he is returning to professional cycling to promote global efforts to prevent and treat cancer. Mr. Armstrong, who is a cancer survivor himself, has raised millions of dollars in donations for cancer research and other efforts by selling yellow Livestrong bracelets, though his charitable work has focused on the United States.

  “My racing the bicycle all over the world is the best way to promote this initiative; it’s the best way to get the word out,” he said, noting that more people every year are killed worldwide by cancer than by malaria and tuberculosis combined.

  Mr. Armstrong said his organization and the American Cancer Society will hold an international meeting on cancer in Paris next July to gather world leaders to discuss the disease. The event will coincide with Mr. Armstrong’s completion of the Tour de France.

  “I can’t guarantee an eighth tour victory, but I can guarantee the Livestrong message will touch all continents of our society,” the cyclist said.

• Mr. Clinton and the former president George H.W. Bush announced the creation of the Bush Clinton Coastal Recovery Fund to help victims of the hurricanes that recently ravaged Texas and other parts of the Gulf Coast.

  Mr. Bush said the “political odd couple” would solicit money for families in Galveston, Tex., and other areas hard hit by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. “Life is anything but normal down there,” the former president said.

• Pam Omidyar, wife of the founder of eBay; Peter Buffett, son of the billionaire investor Warren Buffett; and others pledged $15-million to help Liberia recover from its years of civil conflict and for a forum for foundations working in the African nation to coordinate their grant making.

  During the event, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of Liberia, praised the new effort. “If you want more bang for the buck, you’ve really got to get together,” she said.

Also to benefit Liberia, the Nike Foundation, the World Bank, and others promised $5-million to provide job training to 1,500 adolescent girls.

‘Moral Bankruptcy’

While philanthropy and other private efforts are the focus of the Clinton meeting, the rock star Bono chastised the governments of rich nations for not doing more to alleviate world poverty, fight disease, and promote education.

During a session featuring the former vice president Al Gore, Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf, and others, the rock star complained about what he described as global stinginess.

He said if America can find $700-billion to bailout the financial system, it and other countries can find the $20-billion needed each year to support development work.

If they don’t, he said, “this is moral bankruptcy.”

Bono said the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, a set of economic-development, health, and education objectives, need to be “resuscitated.”

Mr. Clinton praised the Irish singer for his advocacy work, especially his success at convincing Republican lawmakers to support HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Africa.

Bono said that Warren Buffett had given him the best advice for lobbying Americans.

In his best impression of the billionaire’s Midwestern accent, Bono said Mr. Buffett advised: “Don’t appeal to the conscience of America, appeal to the greatness of America, and you’ll get the job done.”