The Giving Pledge

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. 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. As of August 2010, the aggregate wealth of the first 40 pledgers was $125 billion. As of April 2011, 69 billionaires had joined the campaign and given a pledge, and by the following year, The Huffington Post reported that a total of 81 billionaires had pledged. By May 2017, 158 individuals and/or couples were listed as pledgers. Not all pledgers are billionaires.

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

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.

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.

Many pledge participants channel their philanthropy through private family foundations or donor-advised funds (DAFs) that they control, enabling immediate tax benefits while allowing disbursements over time. According to a 2025 report by the Institute for Policy Studies, roughly 80 percent of pledger contributions have gone to such intermediary organisations rather than directly to operating charities. Supporters argue this builds enduring endowments and professionalizes grantmaking, while critics contend it delays impact and preserves donor control, blurring the line between philanthropy and the maintenance of influence.

The initiative has also attracted criticism from journalists, watchdog groups, and members of the philanthropic sector for its voluntary and non-binding nature, which provides no mechanism to verify or enforce the fulfilment of commitments. Commentators note that some signatories may gain public recognition without necessarily donating the pledged share, and that many participants have seen their net worth increase since joining. According to a 2025 analysis by the Institute for Policy Studies, the 32 original U.S. pledgers who remain billionaires have collectively become about 166 percent wealthier since signing on in 2010. According to the study, just 8 of 22 pledgers who have since died actually gave away enough to meet the "half of wealth" pledge by the time of their death.

List of notable pledgers

Net worth is for notable signers. A full list of pledgers is available online.

References

References

1. (2025-10-07). "Who has taken the Pledge".
2. "Global Billionaire Population: The Billionaire Census 2018".
3. (4 August 2010). "Forty U.S. billionaires pledge to give half their money to charity".
4. Carol Loomis. (16 June 2010). "The $600 billion challenge". [[Fortune (magazine).
5. Blackburn, Bradley. (4 August 2010). "The Giving Pledge: Billionaires Promise to Donate at Least Half Their Fortunes to Charity". [[ABC News (United States).
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. ""Warren Buffett, Bill Gates Giving Pledge Gets 12 More Billionaires To Commit Over Half Of Their Fortunes", Huffington Post, April 20, 2012".
8. [http://givingpledge.org/index.html The Giving Pledge :: Pledger Profiles] {{Webarchive. link. (2017-04-17 Retrieved 16 May 2017)
9. Lorenzetti, Laura. (1 June 2016). "17 More Billionaires Join Buffett and Gates' Giving Pledge This Year".
10. Alexander, Sophie. (2022-12-14). "Sam Bankman-Fried Cut From Giving Pledge Website After Arrest". [[Bloomberg L.P]].
11. (25 September 2023). "Billionaire T. Denny Sanford Cut From The Giving Pledge After Child Porn Probe Documents Released". [[Forbes]].
12. (2020-05-14). "New Jewish giving pledge takes a page from Gates and Buffett initiative". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
13. (13 August 2025). "These Billionaires Pledged To Give Away Their Wealth. Instead, Most Are Getting Wealthier". [[Newsweek]].
14. (30 July 2025). "The Giving Pledge at 15". [[Institute for Policy Studies]].
15. "Pledgers".
16. "Elon Musk".
17. "Larry Ellison".
18. "Warren Buffett".
19. "Bill Gates".
20. "Mark Zuckerberg".
21. (22 November 2022). "Vladimir Potanin".
22. "Andrew Forrest".
23. Robin, Myriam. (2013-02-20). "Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest pledges to give away half his wealth".
24. "John Doerr".
25. Dwyer, Jim. (2017-01-05). "'James Bond of Philanthropy' Gives Away the Last of His Fortune". [[The New York Times]].
26. "Judy Faulkner".
27. "Judy Faulkner – The Giving Pledge".
28. "Yuri Milner".
29. Denham, Hannah. (2019-07-01). "Home Depot co-founder plans to give away most of his billions". Washington Post.
30. Nussbaum-Cohen, Debra. (2019-12-20). "Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus on sunsetting his foundation".
31. "Thomas Secunda".
32. (23 November 2022). "Charles Zegar".
33. Kolodny, Lora. (2017-11-22). "Uber and Infosys co-founders are latest billionaires to join The Giving Pledge". CNBC.
34. (23 November 2022). "Ted Turner".
35. "Sam Altman".
36. Valinsky, Jordan. (2024-05-28). "OpenAI’s Sam Altman vows to give away most of his wealth through the Giving Pledge".
37. "James Stowers, U.S.".
38. "Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People 2005".
39. (6 April 2021). "Sandy Weill".