When will we see Asia's Giving Pledge?

Meanwhile, China's inexorable rise reached another landmark when it overtook Japan as the world's 2nd largest economy. According to Forbes magazine's annual rich-list, mainland China is now home to 64 billionaires, with a further 25 in autonomous Hong Kong. But the gap between the richest and poorest is enormous. The U.S. is still the planet's number 1 economy, but its people have a greater share of that wealth with a per capita income of US$42,240. Japan, at number 3, has a per capita income of US$37,800. China's people only see US$3,600 per head.

It could be argued that East Asia has the greatest need for billionaire philanthropists. In fact, that point was made this week. Taiwan's Premier Wu Den-yih called for those who benefited most from the boom times to help out those less fortunate after it emerged that a record number of Taiwanese families have slipped below the poverty line.

There has been no movement towards creating a Giving Pledge in Asia yet, but it is only right that the U.S. was first to start the initiative. It remains the world's richest country by far. Of the world's 1,011 billionaires, the U.S. is home to 403. They have, by and large, been richer for longer than their Asian counterparts, whose rise to wealth coincided with the more recent boom of the region's economies. It is not outrageous that Asia's wealthiest didn't follow in their footsteps as soon as news of their intended donations filtered eastwards. As laudable as their gesture is, it might be pointed out that such dispersion of wealth could have taken place years, if not decades, ago. Perhaps conscious of this fact, Buffett has been noticeably measured in his calls for Indian and Chinese tycoons to follow suit.

Premier Wu is not the only one to have called for greater philanthropy from industry leaders. Similar appeals have come from within the world of business itself, with Chinese internet tycoon Jack Ma, who is worth US$1.2 billion, being perhaps the most eloquent voice. Announcing his plan to invest more of his time and money in environmental causes, he said, “Once your net worth exceeds a certain point, that's not your money anymore … It is the money society has given to you, and you should take responsibility to allocate the money in a good way.”

Taiwan's richest man is Terry Gou, the chairman of electronics giant Hon Hai, who is worth US$5.9 billion. His conglomerate has recently been savaged by commentators after a spate of suicides at its Chinese factories led to questions about the firm's treatment of staff, but he does have some philanthropic instincts. In 2007 he donated NT$15 billion through his Yong Lin Charity Foundation to the National University of Taiwan to fund cancer research, and a year later he announced that he plans to leave 90 percent of his wealth to charity, although many are still waiting to see evidence that the promise will be honored.

Governments can badger industrialists all they like, but as Gates and Buffett have shown, a coordinated and lasting effort can only start from within the business community itself. It is time for someone to step forward to lead a similar pledge in Asia, so that the region's most successful business people leave legacies that amount to more than multiple zeros in bank accounts.

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