Philanthropy Outside the Box - New York Times

Philanthropy Outside the Box - New York Times: "Philanthropy Outside the Box

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By ROBERT JOHNSON
Published: July 31, 2005

At 92, Sir John Marks Templeton may seem an unlikely dispenser of the maxim that life is short.

But he is not talking about the number of years that one has to draw breath. What he sees in short supply is the time that most people allot to accomplishing something worthwhile. 'We should try to waste very little time on fiction, or entertainment, or television,' he said.

He has wasted little time in his life. He started his career on Wall Street in 1937, when he was in his early 20's, and went on to create the Templeton family of mutual funds. Sir John sold the fund business, Templeton, Galbraith & Hansberger, to the Franklin Group, now known as Franklin Resources, in 1992 for $913 million and is now a full-time philanthropist."