May 7, 2015

 

The work of my life has been to develop software that would help keep people well and help sick people get better. It’s been to create a system that allows us to discover the dangers of drugs like Thalidomide or Chloromycetin earlier, before kids are harmed. It’s to enable studies of data that bring us cures for cancer and resolve autism. It’s to share information with other healthcare organizations wherever the patient goes. And it’s to help our heroic healthcare organizations not only take better care of their patients, but also grow and thrive.

Epic needs to be strong, successful, and financially secure so that we can continue to support the healthcare community and build creative solutions for the future.

But I never had any personal desire to be a wealthy billionaire living lavishly. My estate plan has the money from my Epic shares going into a foundation. The foundation will give money to healthcare and do other things as well—reduce the disparity of care, improve education especially for those who don’t have equal opportunities, and if possible, help create a more peaceful world.

Many years ago I asked my young children what two things they needed from their parents. They said ‘food and money.’ I told them ‘roots and wings.’ My goal in pledging 99% of my assets to philanthropy is to help others with roots—food, warmth, shelter, healthcare, education—so they too can have wings.