It was 15 years ago that Ted Turner needed something interesting to say in a speech — and decided, in a rush, to give away US$1 billion (S$1.2 billion). “I was on my way to New York to make the speech,” he recalled to me. “I just thought, what am I going to say?” So, in front of a stunned dinner audience, he announced a US$1 billion gift to United Nations causes such as fighting global poverty.

In nominal terms, before adjusting for inflation, that semi-accidental donation was, at the time, believed to be the biggest single gift ever made and it has helped transform philanthropy.

Tycoons used to compete for their place on the Forbes and Fortune lists of wealthiest people.

If they did give back, it was often late in life and involved museums or the arts. They spent far more philanthropic dollars on oil paintings of women than on improving the lives of real women.

Mr Turner’s gift helped change that culture, reviving the tradition of great philanthropists like Rockefeller and Carnegie. He publicly began needling other billionaires — including Mr Bill Gates and Mr Warren Buffett — to be more generous. That was a breach of etiquette, but it worked.

“It’s a starting point for me of this modern era of high-profile big public giving,” reflected Mr Matthew Bishop, co-author of Philanthrocapitalism, a book about how the business world is reshaping philanthropy.

“He called on others to step up, which did have a crystallising effect on others. It allowed journalists and others who were talking to Bill Gates to say: ‘Why aren’t you giving more?’”

WORLD OF BLEEDING HEARTS

Ultimately, Mr Gates and Mr Buffett made huge contributions that are transforming the struggle against global disease and poverty.

My hunch is that Mr Gates will be remembered less for his work on personal computers than for his accomplishments against malaria, Aids and poverty itself.

Mr Gates and Mr Buffett are both now recruiters for the Giving Pledge, which commits zillionaires to give away at least half of their wealth. The giving pledge adds to the expectation that those who have won the global jackpot should give something back.

Mr Turner channelled his money through the United Nations Foundation, where it was leveraged to get other contributions so as to bring US$2 billion to finance causes from malaria to polio, from climate change to family planning.

The gift brought new respect to the UN and made it increasingly fashionable for billionaires to worry about global poverty.

These tycoons bring not only their chequebooks to the table but also a business sensibility that introduces greater rigour and evaluation to the world of bleeding hearts.

All this has helped shine a greater spotlight on neglected issues, which, in turn, has led to extraordinary results. A study this month reported that global infant mortality dropped by more than half from 1990 to 2010. That is millions of lives saved each year.

LEAST CHARITABLE BILLIONAIRE

Of course, not everybody has gotten the memo. Take Mr Donald Trump, who has contributed his name to a foundation but little more. An investigation by The Smoking Gun website described him as possibly “the least charitable billionaire in the United States”, for he apparently gave the foundation just US$3.7 million — over 20 years. Mr Trump, who has said he is worth US$7 billion, is not even the largest contributor to his own foundation.

(A spokesman for Mr Trump suggested that it would be “totally incorrect” to characterise him as uncharitable, saying he has donated land in upstate New York for public parks and “millions of dollars” to other causes.)

Mr Turner is not shy about encouraging others to jump on board. When I asked if he had any advice for my readers, he grew particularly animated: “You don’t have to have any money to make a difference; you can pick up trash walking down the street and I do that all the time,” he said. “You can volunteer your time.”

Look, it makes me a little squeamish to extol a billionaire, for our society already has too much worship of the wealthy — and, in any case, the working poor in America are often more generous in percentage terms (and in volunteering) than those far better off.

That said, it warms my heart that a mogul donated US$1 billion to enliven a speech, did not even put his name on the foundation and then let the money quietly save lives around the world.

If you’re still reading, Mr Trump, it’s your move. THE NEW YORK TIMES

Nicholas Kristof is a New York Times columnist and a winner of two Pulitzer Prizes.