The Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, said Wednesday that his money would be better spent on projects that create jobs than on charity, according to Bloomberg.

Speaking at a conference in Sydney as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett prepare to host a dinner in Beijing to promote philanthropy among China’s wealthy, Mr. Slim said employment is the best weapon to fight poverty.

“Trillions of dollars have been given to charity in the last 50 years, and they don’t solve anything,” he said, adding, in apparent reference to the Gates-Buffett “Giving Pledge,” “To give 50 percent, 40 percent, that does nothing.”

Wednesday’s dinner has sparked an unprecedented public debate in China about the value of philanthropy and whether the Gates-Buffett giving approach is appropriate for the country, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters write.

In India, another country with a growing tycoon class, the technology mogul Shiv Nadar has pledged 10 percent of his wealth to philanthropy, Indian newspaper The Economic Times says.

Mr. Nadar said he was influenced by the example of Bill and Melinda Gates but that he intends to build a less “project driven” philanthropic institution that, unlike the Gates’ foundation, will not spend itself down within a specific time after his death.

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