Issue 31 • January 2016 • Record of Michaelmas Term 2015
THE
OCELLUS From the Headmaster
It is almost impossible to comprehend how just two internet entrepreneurs have managed between them to accumulate wealth of over $100 billion. The industrial revolution created many wealthy people, but rarely on the same scale, and never at the same speed. Their wealth approximates to the GDP of the 20 poorest countries in Africa, all added together. It is perhaps even more surprising to read that both of them, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, have indicated their intention to give away almost all of their wealth to help relieve the plight of the neediest people in the world. We are often presented with the idea that wealth, like power, is a bit like a drug: that it creates a craving to possess even more, and to hold on to what has been amassed. That certainly seems to be the effect it has on some. But there were notable examples of philanthropy even during the 19th century, not least the Quaker chocolate manufacturing family, Cadbury. I think the latest news of Mark Zuckerberg’s intentions can be a lesson for us as a school community. It underscores what good education aims for, and it presents a tremendous example to young people setting out on their road to success. First, that education should encourage young people to be ambitious, to work hard, to maximise their skills, to aim for the sky. Second, that the values learned at home and in school should encourage them to look beyond themselves, to seek out ways of helping others, especially those without the wealth or power to look after themselves. In the age of the lottery we have all been encouraged to imagine what we would do with a massive win, with images of large houses, fast cars, luxurious holidays, usually with a yacht somewhere in the picture. As I write this, in the days running up to Christmas, it is surely good to be reminded that it is ‘more blessed to give than to receive’. Perhaps, more than that, we also have the feeling that both these entrepreneurs will gain a greater sense of fulfilment and joy from the act of giving away than they ever did from amassing the wealth in the first place.
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Front Page Photo: Monkeying around in Barbados on the Sports Tour