You should read How To Get Rich by Felix Dennis. Here is an excerpt where he mentions giving money away: "So why do I not give it away? Because I worked too hard for it. Because I am tained by it. Because I am afraid to. All those reasons and more. Perhaps, if I am lucky enough to become old, I will accumulate something else: the courage to give it all away before I die. That would be a good thing, I think. ... "Giving money away when you are dead takes no guts. No courage. But to divest yourself of hundreds of millions of dollars, or the greater part of your fortune, before your death? That would be something to be proud of, don't you think? It even makes logical sense."