Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I love it when rich people share their wealth. I have written about Bill Gates and Warren Buffet's "The Giving Pledge" wherein billionaires pledge to give away at least half of their fortune and Harvey Ball, the inventor of the "Smiley Face" who's World Smile Corporation gives away millions to charity every year. J.K. Rowling has just become another one of my heroes. She has just given $15.4 million to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to set up a new clinic to carry out research into MS. What makes this action even more poignant to me is that not so long ago J.K. Rowling was a single mom on social assistance. She wrote her first Harry Potter book sitting in a coffee shop with her child. From that humble beginning, Rowling is now a billionaire. MS is of special interest to her, as her mother died from complications related to MS. When making her statement, Rowling said that she has just turned 45, the age her mother was when she died. Edinburgh is Rowling's hometown. Scotland has one of the highest rates of MS in the world. The centre will also study other degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. People who remember their roots and share their wealth (and write great books) . . . it's a good thing!
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