The Giving Pledge

The Giving Pledge is a philanthropic campaign started in June 2010 by American billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. The official website states that it “is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.” As of August 2010, 40 billionaires in the US have joined this campaign and pledged to give 50% or more of their wealth to charity; among these are people such as Michael Bloomberg, Tom Steyer, Ted Turner and Barry Diller.^[1] In addition Larry Ellison founder of Oracle Corporation, Sanford I. Weill former CEO of citigroup, Pierre Omidyar founder of eBay and film maker George Lucas were among the ones who joined the pledge.^[2] By making the pledge the donors are promising a collective sum of at least $125 billion.^[3] According to the pledge the donation can happen either during the lifetime or after the death of the donor.^[3] The pledge is a moral commitment to give not a legal contract.^[4] The list of donors includes Jon Huntsman, Sr., Barron Hilton and David Rockefeller.^[5][4] Buffet said that he would meet wealthy individuals in India and China to talk about philanthropy and stated that they hope the idea of generosity will spread.^[6] He stated "We're hoping that America, which is the most generous society on Earth, becomes even more generous over time