The Giving Pledge Explained

The Giving Pledge
Size:160px
Type:Charitable organization
Membership:236
Leader Title:Founders
Leader Name:Bill Gates
Warren Buffett

The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority (i.e. more than 50%) of their wealth to philanthropic causes., the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 countries.[1] Most of the signatories of the pledge are billionaires, and as of 2023, their pledges are estimated at a total of US$600 billion.[2] However, there is no enforcement mechanism (signing the letter is an intention, not a formal commitment), and no restrictions on the charitable causes that signatories are allowed to support.

Description

The organization's stated goal is to inspire the wealthy people of the world to give at least half of their net worth to philanthropy, either during their lifetime or upon their death. The pledge is a public gesture of an intention to give, not a legal contract.[3] On the Giving Pledge's website, each individual or couple writes a letter explaining why they chose to give.

History

In June 2010, the Giving Pledge campaign was formally announced and Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett began recruiting members.[4] As of August 2010, the aggregate wealth of the first 40 pledgers was $125 billion.[5] As of April 2011, 69 billionaires had joined the campaign and given a pledge,[6] and by the following year, The Huffington Post reported that a total of 81 billionaires had pledged.[7] By May 2017, 158 individuals and/or couples were listed as pledgers.[8] [9] Not all pledgers are billionaires.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was removed from the list in December 2022 following his arrest.[10]

Banker T. Denny Sanford had his name removed from the list in May 2023 following the unsealing of court documents about his possible involvement with child pornography.[11]

The Giving Pledge was cited as inspiration for the Jewish Future Pledge, a charitable campaign launched in 2020 to encourage American Jews to give at least half of their charitable giving to Jewish- or Israel-related causes.[12]

List of notable pledgers

Net worth is as of 2022 for notable signers. A full list of pledgers is available online.[13]

!Name!Net worth in billion $US!Source of wealth!Industry!Year of pledge!Year of death
Elon Musk184.7[14] Tesla, SpaceXElectric vehicles, Rocketry2012
Larry Ellison148.7[15] OracleTech2010
Warren Buffett131.5[16] Berkshire HathawayFinance & Investments2010
128.9[17] Software, Tech2010
Mark Zuckerberg176[18] Meta PlatformsTech2010
MacKenzie Scott55AmazonTech2019
Azim Premji32.8WiproTech2013
Vladimir Potanin31.4[19] interrosInvestment2013
Jim Simons25.2Renaissance TechnologiesFinance & Investments20102024
Dustin Moskovitz24.04FacebookTech2010
Carl Icahn22Icahn EnterprisesFinance & Investments2010
Pierre Omidyar21.8eBayTech2010
Andrew Forrest20.8 (2023)[20] Fortescue Metals GroupMining2013[21]
John Doerr12.7[22] Kleiner PerkinsFinance & Investments2010
Patrick Soon-Shiong11.5Abraxane, investmentsHealthcare2010
Melinda French Gates11.4MicrosoftTech2010
Jack Dangermond9.2ESRIGeoinformatics, Environment2016
Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins9.2CanvaTech2021
George Lucas8.59LucasfilmMedia2010
Nikhil Kamath8ZerodhaFinance & Investments2023
Charles Feeney8[23] DFS Groupluxury retail20112023
George Kaiser7.6Kaiser-Francis Oil CompanyEnergy2010
Judith Faulkner7.5[24] Epic SystemsTech2015[25]
Yuri Milner6.8[26] DST GlobalTechnology investing2013
6.7 Tech 2011
Jeffrey Skoll6.1eBayTech2010
Mitchell and Emily Wei Rales5.4Danaher CorporationBusiness2019
Bernard Marcus4.5[27] to 6.1[28] (2019)The Home DepotRetail2010
Barron Hilton4.5Hilton WorldwideServices20102019
David Green4.5Hobby LobbyRetail2010
Jeff Green4.4AdECNTech2021
Ronald Perelman4.3MacAndrews & ForbesFinance & Investments2010
David Rubenstein4.3The Carlyle GroupFinance & Investments2010
Walter Scott Jr.4.2Berkshire HathawayFinance & Investments20102021
Julian Robertson4.1Tiger ManagementFinance & Investments20102022
Anil Agrawal4Vedanta ResourcesMining2021
Thomas Secunda3.6[29] Bloomberg L.PTech2010
B. R. Shetty3.5NMC HealthHealthcare2018
David Rockefeller3.3Standard Oil, inheritanceEnergy20102017
Ken Langone3.3The Home DepotRetail2010
2.8 Finance & Investments 2012
Charles Zegar2.8[30] Bloomberg L.PTech2010
Peter G. Peterson2.8Blackstone GroupFinance & Investments20102018
Garrett Camp[31] 2.7UberTech2017
2.6 Cryptocurrency 2018
Ted Turner2.4[32] Cable News NetworkMedia2010
Herbert and Marion Sandler2.4Golden West Financial CorporationFinance & Investments2010
Gerry Lenfest and Marguerite Lenfest2.4Lenfest CommunicationsMedia20102018
T. Denny Sanford2.2First PREMIER BankFinance & Investments2010
James E. Stowers2[33] Twentieth Century Mutual FundsFinance & Investments2010
Tom Steyer1.6Farallon CapitalFinance & Investments2010
George P. Mitchell1.6Mitchell Energy & Development CorpEnergy2010
Ted Forstmann1.6Forstmann Little & CompanyFinance & Investments2010
Jon Huntsman Sr.1.5Huntsman CorporationManufacturing2010
1.4 Tech 2022
Sidney Kimmel1.4Jones Apparel GroupFashion & Cosmetics2010
Irwin M. Jacobs1.2QualcommTech2010
Bernard Osher1.1[34] Golden West Financial CorporationFinance & Investments2010
Duncan MacMillan1.1Bloomberg L.PTech2010
Lorry I. Lokey1Business WireMedia20102022
Sanford I. Weill1[35] (2021)Shearson Loeb RhoadesFinance & Investments2010
John Morgridge1Cisco SystemsTech2010
Tom Monaghan1Domino's PizzaFood & Beverage2010
Lyda Hill1Hunt Oil Company, inheritanceEnergy2010
Anne Wojcicki0.823andMeGenealogy2022
Shelby White0.6Leon Levy, Odyssey PartnersFinance & Investments2010
T. Boone Pickens0.5Mesa Petroleum, BP Capital ManagementEnergy, Finance & Investments20102019

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FAQ: How many people have joined the Giving Pledge, and where are they from?. 13 June 2022. The Giving Pledge. en-US. 22 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221022052019/https://www.givingpledge.org/faq/. live.
  2. Web site: Global Billionaire Population: The Billionaire Census 2018. 16 December 2020. Wealth-X. en-US. 6 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210106134958/https://www.wealthx.com/report/the-wealth-x-billionaire-census-2018/. live.
  3. News: Forty U.S. billionaires pledge to give half their money to charity. 4 August 2010. 5 August 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100811032238/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-08/05/c_13430367.htm. 11 August 2010. Xinhua News Agency. A statement from the Giving Pledge website said "the pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract.".
  4. Web site: The $600 billion challenge. 16 June 2010. Carol Loomis. Carol Loomis. Fortune. 20 October 2016. 1 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080003/http://fortune.com/2010/06/16/the-600-billion-challenge/?iid=sr-link1. live.
  5. News: The Giving Pledge: Billionaires Promise to Donate at Least Half Their Fortunes to Charity. Blackburn. Bradley. 4 August 2010. ABC News. 5 August 2010. 1 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180501071145/http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bill-gates-warren-buffett-organize-billionaire-giving-pledge/story?id=11325984. live.
  6. 10 More U.S. Families Commit to the Giving Pledge https://givingpledge.org/PressRelease.aspx?date=04.28.2011, retrieved 25 October 2011
  7. Web site: "Warren Buffett, Bill Gates Giving Pledge Gets 12 More Billionaires To Commit Over Half Of Their Fortunes", Huffington Post, April 20, 2012 . October 7, 2012 . May 2, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120502053545/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/giving-pledge-warren-buffett-bill-gates_n_1441387.html . live .
  8. http://givingpledge.org/index.html The Giving Pledge :: Pledger Profiles
  9. Web site: 17 More Billionaires Join Buffett and Gates' Giving Pledge This Year. Lorenzetti. Laura. 1 June 2016. Fortune. 20 October 2016. 12 June 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180612000357/http://fortune.com/2016/06/01/giving-pledge-new-members-2016/. live.
  10. News: Alexander . Sophie . 2022-12-14 . Sam Bankman-Fried Cut From Giving Pledge Website After Arrest . en . . live . 2023-08-05 . https://archive.today/20221214233146/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-14/sam-bankman-fried-cut-from-giving-pledge-website-after-arrest . 2022-12-14.
  11. News: McEvoy . Jemima . Billionaire T. Denny Sanford Cut From The Giving Pledge After Child Porn Probe Documents Released . 26 September 2023 . . 25 September 2023 . en . 26 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230926030346/https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2023/09/25/billionaire-t-denny-sanford-cut-from-the-giving-pledge-after-child-porn-probe-documents-released/?sh=51209ac15884 . live .
  12. News: Oster . Marcy . New Jewish giving pledge takes a page from Gates and Buffett initiative . 9 October 2023 . Jewish Telegraphic Agency . 2020-05-14 . 2023-10-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231009071220/https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/new-jewish-giving-pledge-takes-a-page-from-gates-and-buffett-initiative . live .
  13. Web site: Pledgers . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220109225231/https://givingpledge.org/pledgers . 23 November 2022 . The Giving Pledge . 9 January 2022 .
  14. Web site: Elon Musk . 2024-04-16 . Forbes . en . 2014-02-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140210112624/http://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/ . live .
  15. Web site: Larry Ellison . 2024-04-16 . Forbes . en . 2018-01-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180131145538/https://www.forbes.com/profile/larry-ellison/ . live .
  16. Web site: Warren Buffett . 2024-04-16 . Forbes . en . 2020-08-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200815130703/https://www.forbes.com/profile/warren-buffett/ . live .
  17. Web site: Bill Gates . 2024-04-16 . Forbes . en . 2017-08-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170820124015/https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/ . live .
  18. Web site: Mark Zuckerberg . 2024-04-16 . Forbes . en . 2011-09-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110928173850/http://www.forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/ . live .
  19. Web site: 22 November 2022 . Vladimir Potanin . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221123204429/https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/vladimir-o-potanin/?leadSource=uverify%20wall . 23 November 2022 . 23 November 2022 . Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
  20. Web site: Andrew Forrest . 2023-02-24 . Forbes . en . 2023-02-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224052951/https://www.forbes.com/profile/andrew-forrest/ . live .
  21. Web site: Robin . Myriam . 2013-02-20 . Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest pledges to give away half his wealth . 2023-02-24 . SmartCompany . en-AU . 2023-02-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224053501/https://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/innovation/andrew-twiggy-forrest-takes-pledge-to-give-away-half-his-wealth/ . live .
  22. Web site: John Doerr . 2024-04-16 . Forbes . en . 2019-05-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190514090204/https://www.forbes.com/profile/john-doerr/ . live .
  23. News: Dwyer. Jim. 2017-01-05. 'James Bond of Philanthropy' Gives Away the Last of His Fortune. The New York Times. 2017-01-05. 2017-01-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20170110205331/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/05/nyregion/james-bond-of-philanthropy-gives-away-the-last-of-his-fortune.html?_r=0. live.
  24. Web site: Judy Faulkner. 2022-08-15. Forbes. en. 2022-08-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20220815192954/https://www.forbes.com/profile/judy-faulkner/?sh=22f3832c33b8. live.
  25. Web site: Judy Faulkner – The Giving Pledge. 2022-08-15. The Giving Pledge. en. 2022-08-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20220815192958/https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=194. live.
  26. Web site: Yuri Milner . 2024-01-30 . Forbes . en . 2017-07-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170710080059/https://www.forbes.com/profile/yuri-milner/ . live .
  27. News: Denham . Hannah . Home Depot co-founder plans to give away most of his billions . Washington Post . 2019-07-01 . 2022-11-16 . 2021-02-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210203021622/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/07/01/home-depot-co-founder-plans-give-away-most-his-billions/ . live .
  28. Web site: Nussbaum-Cohen . Debra . Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus on sunsetting his foundation . Jewish Insider . 2019-12-20 . 2022-11-16 . 2022-11-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221117214704/https://jewishinsider.com/2019/12/home-depot-founder-bernie-marcus-on-sunsetting-his-foundation/ . live .
  29. Web site: Thomas Secunda. 2021-12-29. Forbes. en. 2022-09-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20220901053651/https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-secunda/. live.
  30. Web site: 23 November 2022 . Charles Zegar . 23 November 2022 . Forbes Profile . 23 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221123211341/https://www.forbes.com/profile/charles-zegar/ . live .
  31. News: Uber and Infosys co-founders are latest billionaires to join The Giving Pledge. Kolodny. Lora. 2017-11-22. CNBC. 2017-12-16. 2017-12-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014224/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/22/uber-and-infosys-co-founders-join-the-giving-pledge.html. live.
  32. Web site: 23 November 2022 . Ted Turner . . 23 November 2022 . 23 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221123211334/https://www.forbes.com/profile/ted-turner/ . live .
  33. Web site: James Stowers, U.S.. 2021-12-29. Forbes. en. 2022-02-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20220217095800/https://www.forbes.com/pictures/mjh45jdhi/james-stowers-u-s/. live.
  34. Web site: Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People 2005. 2021-12-29. www.forbes.com. 2021-12-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20211229130631/https://www.forbes.com/static/bill2005/LIRXFVQ.html?passListId=10&passYear=2005&passListType=Person&uniqueId=XFVQ&datatype=Person. live.
  35. Web site: 6 April 2021 . Sandy Weill . 23 November 2022 . Forbes Profile . 23 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221123211339/https://www.forbes.com/profile/sandy-weill/ . live .