Billionaire philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffett urged India’s tycoons on Thursday to give up some of their newfound wealth to help the country’s hundreds of millions of impoverished people, The Associated Press reports.
The pitch was similar to one they gave in September in China, where they had little success in sparking a charitable movement among the country’s growing number of first-generation tycoons.
But Gates and Buffett said they were optimistic about their meeting Thursday with about 70 people representing India’s most wealthy.
Corporate foundations have multiplied in India as the economy has barreled ahead with nearly 9 percent growth in recent years, making it the second-fastest-growing major economy after China.
Forbes counted 65 billionaires in India this year. And there were at least 126,700 Indians with at least $1 million in 2009, according to a study by Merrill Lynch and the Capgemini consulting firm.
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