| Good morning. It's Friday, so time for feedback. Lots of reaction to my suggestion that Jeff Bezos should sign the "Giving Pledge." Among the responses: "Wanting to take you to task a little for the criticisms of Jeff’s philanthropy. He has much life yet to live and who knows what he will do with his wealth…To MacKenzie Bezos I say thank you and bravo." — DW "Is it worthwhile considering that the best charity Jeff could do is what he’s doing, i.e. funding space infrastructure which is likely going to cost a large chunk of what he has left/will make. He’s effectively helping humanity pave the way to space and new (better??) ways of solving overpopulation, pollution and cracking a potential meteor problem—amongst other things." — MS "Perhaps during his lifetime, Jeff can do more with his money and power to benefit mankind than he could accomplish by putting billions of dollars into the hands of charities. He is young and active and can make his own decisions." — VC And then there was KI, who simply responded: "Please delete all my subscriptions to your newsletters." Okay, I take the point. Or rather three points. 1) It is his money. 2) Much charity is wasted. And 3) For-profit investment can have a powerful positive impact on society. All true. But the Gates Foundation still stands as a worthy example of the power of philanthropy. And in an era when a rising chorus on the left is arguing ultra-wealth should be taxed away, more examples like Gates would make a stronger counter argument. After all, who will argue the federal government would make better use of those billions than the Gates Foundation? I'll be in London on Monday for the Fortune Most Powerful Women International Summit. Among the prominent women attending: Manolo Blahnik CEO Kristina Blahnik, Booking.com CEO Gillian Tans, and Softbank Vision Fund Venture Partner Kirthiga Reddy. I'll be interviewing iTV CEO Carolyn McCall. More news below. | 
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