The Giving Pledge


The Giving Pledge is a charitable campaign, founded by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, to encourage wealthy people to contribute a majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes., the pledge has over 250 signatories from 30 countries. Most of the signatories of the pledge are billionaires, at a total of US$600 billion.

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 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 as of 2024 for notable signers. A full list of pledgers is available online.
NameNet worth in billion US$Source of wealthIndustryYear of pledgeYear of deathAmount donated
Elon Musk320.02Tesla, SpaceXElectric vehicles, Rocketry2012$7.6 billion
Larry Ellison231.8OracleTech2010$0.8 billion
Warren Buffett146.8Berkshire HathawayFinance & Investments2010$60 billion+
Bill Gates105.1MicrosoftSoftware, Tech2010$50 billion+
Mark Zuckerberg201.7Meta PlatformsTech2010$45 billion
MacKenzie Scott38.6AmazonTech2019$19 billion
Azim Premji12.3WiproTech2013$21 billion
Vladimir Potanin23.7interrosInvestment2013
Jim Simons25.2Renaissance TechnologiesFinance & Investments20102024$4 billion+
Dustin Moskovitz24.04FacebookTech2010$2.6 billion
Carl Icahn22Icahn EnterprisesFinance & Investments2010
Pierre Omidyar21.8eBayTech2010
Andrew Forrest20.8 FortescueMining2013
John Doerr12.7Kleiner 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 Feeney8DFS GroupLuxury retail20112023$8 billion+
George Kaiser7.6Kaiser-Francis Oil CompanyEnergy2010
Judith Faulkner7.5Epic SystemsTech2015
Yuri Milner6.8DST GlobalTechnology investing2013
Henry Samueli6.7Broadcom CorporationTech2011
Jeffrey Skoll6.1eBayTech2010
Mitchell and Emily Wei Rales5.4Danaher CorporationBusiness2019
Bernard Marcus4.5 to 6.1 The Home DepotRetail20102024$2.2 billion
Barron Hilton4.5Hilton WorldwideServices20102019$3.6 billion
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$0.5-0.7 billion
Julian Robertson4.1Tiger ManagementFinance & Investments20102022$2 billion+
Anil Agrawal4Vedanta ResourcesMining2021
Thomas Secunda3.6Bloomberg L.PTech2010
B. R. Shetty3.5NMC HealthHealthcare2018
David Rockefeller3.3Standard Oil, inheritanceEnergy20102017
Ken Langone3.3The Home DepotRetail2010
Bill Ackman2.8Pershing Square Capital ManagementFinance & Investments2012
Charles Zegar2.8Bloomberg L.PTech2010
Peter G. Peterson2.8Blackstone GroupFinance & Investments20102018
Garrett Camp2.7UberTech2017
Brian Armstrong2.6CoinbaseCryptocurrency2018
Ted Turner2.4Cable 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
Sam Altman2OpenAI, ChatGPTTech2024
James E. Stowers2Twentieth Century Mutual FundsFinance & Investments2010
Tom Steyer1.6Farallon CapitalFinance & Investments2010
George P. Mitchell1.6Mitchell Energy & Development CorpEnergy20102013
Ted Forstmann1.6Forstmann Little & CompanyFinance & Investments20102011
Jon Huntsman Sr.1.5Huntsman CorporationManufacturing20102018$1.5 billion+
Mark Pincus1.4ZyngaTech2022
Sidney Kimmel1.4Jones Apparel GroupFashion & Cosmetics2010
Irwin M. Jacobs1.2QualcommTech2010
Bernard Osher1.1Golden West Financial CorporationFinance & Investments2010
Duncan MacMillan1.1Bloomberg L.PTech2010
Lorry I. Lokey1Business WireMedia20102022
Sanford I. Weill1 Shearson Loeb RhoadesFinance & Investments2010
John Morgridge1Cisco SystemsTech2010
Tom Monaghan1Domino's PizzaFood & Beverage2010
Lyda Hill1Hunt Oil Company, inheritanceEnergy2010
Anne Wojcicki0.823andMeGenealogy2022$0.02 billion+
Shelby White0.6Leon Levy, Odyssey PartnersFinance & Investments2010
T. Boone Pickens0.5Mesa Petroleum, BP Capital ManagementEnergy, Finance & Investments20102019$1 billion+