Buffet, Gates and Klinefelters by Ronan S. Estoque, MA (July, 2006)

The richest man in the world is Bill Gates of Microsoft. The second richest man in the world is Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway. The estimated contribution of Bill Gates to the foundation that he and his wife leads amounts to 26 billion dollars. Just a couple of weeks ago, Warren Buffet was reported to have contributed 85% of his wealth to the foundation of Bill Gates.

85% is loosely translated to 37 billion dollars. In Philippine Peso, that is around 20 trillion pesos. Just how huge is 20 trillion pesos?

Try counting right now till the day you die and you will never reach a billion figure. The budget of the republic is a trillion pesos and the estimated internal and external debt of the country is around 4 trillion pesos.

Simply put, Mr. Buffet could easily pay the internal and external debts of the republic and still finance the republic for a minimum of ten years. That is how big 20 trillion pesos is.

It might be an ego thing but I am certain that Bill Gates will not allow Warren Buffet to get the distinction of the being the biggest philantrophist in the modern world. Sooner or later, Bill Gates will make a splash of his own and upstage Warren Buffet.

For the rich people, it is really not about the money but the issue of a neurotic need for recognition.


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Scientifically, a male is composed of XY chromosome while a female is composed of XX chromosome. The females, no matter what they do could only offer the X chromosome during fertilization. It is the male, who either provides the X or Y chromosome that in the end determines the sex of the offspring.

If X is provided, we will have a combination of XX (leading to a female offspring) while if Y is provided, this will lead to a male offspring.

The twist however is that sometimes, around 1% of the total world population, a fertilization results in a combination of three chromosomes (i.e. XXY or XXX). This phenomenon produces individuals who are tagged as "klinefelters". And strictly speaking, these are the only individuals who are licensed to be "confused sexually" because even at the chromosome level, it doesn't know how to classify itself.

The cause of homosexuality is still is a raging debate in the realm of psychology. Klinefelters on the other hand partly explains one facet of homosexuality.

The estimated population of the republic right now is around 87 million people. The conservative estimate of homosexuals is around 20% (some would even claim a higher figure). The point is, not all of them falls under the category of klinefelters.