14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffet have convinced no less than 40 billionaires and their families in the United States to donate at least half their fortunes to philanthropy. Buffet together with Bill and Melinda Gates initiated the Giving Pledge initiative approximately six months ago. With the first group of pledges announced, the three have managed to gather an estimated $600 billion for charity.
“We have been blessed with good fortune beyond our wildest expectations, and we are profoundly grateful. But just as these gifts are great, so we feel a great responsibility to use them well. That is why we are so pleased to join in making an explicit commitment to the Giving Pledge,” revealed Bill and Melinda Gates.
Buffett has already pledged 99% of his wealth for philanthropic purposes, and the same is valid for Microsoft’s co-founder, who is sponsoring the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation with the vast majority of his fortune. According to Buffett, his family is more than better off with just 1% of the Berkshire Hathaway stock certificates, and he is looking to have the rest of 99% have the biggest impact it can.
“We’ve really just started, but already we’ve had a terrific response,” said Warren Buffett, pledge co-founder and chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. “At its core, the Giving Pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used. We’re delighted that so many people are doing just that – and that so many have decided to not only take this pledge but also to commit to sums far greater than the 50% minimum level.”
The Giving Pledge website features a list of billionaires that have accepted to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. Among the names included are Paul Allen, Michael Bloomberg, Barron Hilton, Laura and John Arnold, George Lucas, David Rockefeller, etc.
“My pledge is to the process; as long as I have the resources at my disposal, I will seek to raise the bar for future generations of students of all ages. I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education,” Lucas said.
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