“There were eight of us in a little, tiny house,” says Berber, the founder of online brokerage CyBerCorp. “Having fancy material things is not who we are or where we come from.” After selling his company to Charles Schwab for $500 million in March, Berber can afford as many bedrooms as he wants, but he’s eschewing New Economy toys for something a bit more old-fashioned: charity. Berber and his wife, Donna, have set aside $100 million to form a foundation called A Glimmer of Hope, which will work to ease poverty, disease and suffering in Ethiopia. Hoping to keep administrative costs low, A Glimmer of Hope will use its Web site to collect pledges efficiently and educate potential donors about the projects it funds. The magnanimous decision should help the newly wealthy entrepreneur sleep well. Says Berber, “Doing this is much more satisfying than buying an airplane.”
