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THE secret is out on a clandestine billionaires' summit held in Manhattan earlier this month, when some of the wealthiest Americans met behind closed doors to plot strategies for weathering the economic downturn and coordinating their global philanthropic efforts. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett organized the hush-hush huddle held in a Rockefeller University conference room on the Upper East Side with Mayor Bloomberg , George Soros , Oprah Winfrey , Eli Broad , Ted Turner , David Rockefeller Sr. and David Rockefeller Jr. , among others. Topic No. 1 during the May 5 conclave was which of the moguls' favorite causes -- such as disease control or government reform -- needed extra help during the downturn. They also sought ways to encourage the common man to keep making small-change donations, an aide to one participant said. IrishCentral.com, which first reported on the powwow, said Gates and Buffett also solicited views on how the group should respond to the global econom

DAVOS, Switzerland (CNN) -- Economic woes took a back seat at the World Economic Forum in Davos Friday as the meeting focused on corporate responsibility and business chiefs played down the possibility of a recession. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates set the tone by announcing grants of $306 million to develop farming in poor countries -- a new direction for his charitable foundation. Gates, who is stepping down as Microsoft chair later this year, received a standing ovation for his announcement at the suggestion of U2 frontman Bono. The move will help boost efforts by the annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland to shake off its image as a billionaire's talking shop that does little to solve the problems it discusses. "If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers, most of whom are women," Gates said. "The challenge here is to design a system including profit and recog