the Giving Pledge
{{Short description|Charitable campaign}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = The Giving Pledge
| image = The Giving Pledge Logo.svg
| size = 160px
| caption =
| motto =
| formation = {{start date and age|2010}}
| extinction =
| type = Charitable organization
| headquarters =
| location =
| membership = 236
| language =
| leader_title = Founders
| leader_name = Bill Gates
Warren Buffett
| num_staff =
| budget =
| website = {{URL|https://givingpledge.org/|givingpledge.org}}
}}
{{Bill Gates series}}
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. {{As of|2022|06}}, the pledge has had 236 signatories from 28 countries.{{Cite web|title=FAQ: How many people have joined the Giving Pledge, and where are they from?|url=https://www.givingpledge.org/faq/|access-date=13 June 2022|website=The Giving Pledge|language=en-US|archive-date=22 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022052019/https://www.givingpledge.org/faq/|url-status=live}} Most of the signatories of the pledge are billionaires, at a total of US$600 billion.{{Cite web|title=Global Billionaire Population: The Billionaire Census 2018|url=https://www.wealthx.com/report/the-wealth-x-billionaire-census-2018/|access-date=16 December 2020|website=Wealth-X|language=en-US|archive-date=6 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106134958/https://www.wealthx.com/report/the-wealth-x-billionaire-census-2018/|url-status=live}}
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.{{cite news|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2010-08/05/content_11098219.htm|title=Forty U.S. billionaires pledge to give half their money to charity|date=4 August 2010|access-date=5 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811032238/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2010-08/05/c_13430367.htm|archive-date=11 August 2010|agency=Xinhua News Agency|quote=A statement from the Giving Pledge website said "the pledge is a moral commitment 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.{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2010/06/16/the-600-billion-challenge/?iid=sr-link1|title=The $600 billion challenge|date=16 June 2010|author=Carol Loomis|author-link=Carol Loomis|work=Fortune|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201080003/http://fortune.com/2010/06/16/the-600-billion-challenge/?iid=sr-link1|url-status=live}} As of August 2010, the aggregate wealth of the first 40 pledgers was $125 billion.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/WN/bill-gates-warren-buffett-organize-billionaire-giving-pledge/story?id=11325984|title=The Giving Pledge: Billionaires Promise to Donate at Least Half Their Fortunes to Charity|last=Blackburn|first=Bradley|date=4 August 2010|work=ABC News|access-date=5 August 2010|archive-date=1 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501071145/http://abcnews.go.com/WN/bill-gates-warren-buffett-organize-billionaire-giving-pledge/story?id=11325984|url-status=live}} As of April 2011, 69 billionaires had joined the campaign and given a pledge,10 More U.S. Families Commit to the Giving Pledge [https://givingpledge.org/PressRelease.aspx?date=04.28.2011], retrieved 25 October 2011 and by the following year, The Huffington Post reported that a total of 81 billionaires had pledged.{{Cite web |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/giving-pledge-warren-buffett-bill-gates_n_1441387.html |title="Warren Buffett, Bill Gates Giving Pledge Gets 12 More Billionaires To Commit Over Half Of Their Fortunes", Huffington Post, April 20, 2012 |access-date=October 7, 2012 |archive-date=May 2, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502053545/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/giving-pledge-warren-buffett-bill-gates_n_1441387.html |url-status=live }} By May 2017, 158 individuals and/or couples were listed as pledgers.[http://givingpledge.org/index.html The Giving Pledge :: Pledger Profiles] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417164157/https://givingpledge.org/index.html |date=2017-04-17 }} Retrieved 16 May 2017{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2016/06/01/giving-pledge-new-members-2016/|title=17 More Billionaires Join Buffett and Gates' Giving Pledge This Year|last=Lorenzetti|first=Laura|date=1 June 2016|website=Fortune|access-date=20 October 2016|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612000357/http://fortune.com/2016/06/01/giving-pledge-new-members-2016/|url-status=live}}{{update inline|date=August 2022}} Not all pledgers are billionaires.
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was removed from the list in December 2022 following his arrest.{{Cite news |last=Alexander |first=Sophie |date=2022-12-14 |title=Sam Bankman-Fried Cut From Giving Pledge Website After Arrest |language=en |work=Bloomberg L.P |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-14/sam-bankman-fried-cut-from-giving-pledge-website-after-arrest |url-status=live |access-date=2023-08-05 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221214233146/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-14/sam-bankman-fried-cut-from-giving-pledge-website-after-arrest |archive-date=2022-12-14}}
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.{{cite news |last1=McEvoy |first1=Jemima |title=Billionaire T. Denny Sanford Cut From The Giving Pledge After Child Porn Probe Documents Released |url=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 |access-date=26 September 2023 |work=Forbes |date=25 September 2023 |language=en |archive-date=26 September 2023 |archive-url=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 |url-status=live }}
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.{{cite news |last1=Oster |first1=Marcy |title=New Jewish giving pledge takes a page from Gates and Buffett initiative |url=https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/new-jewish-giving-pledge-takes-a-page-from-gates-and-buffett-initiative |access-date=9 October 2023 |work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=2020-05-14 |archive-date=2023-10-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009071220/https://www.jta.org/quick-reads/new-jewish-giving-pledge-takes-a-page-from-gates-and-buffett-initiative |url-status=live }}
List of notable pledgers
{{Incomplete list|date=December 2021}}
Net worth is {{as of|2024|lc=y}} for notable signers. A full list of pledgers is available online.{{Cite web |title=Pledgers |url=https://givingpledge.org/pledgers|access-date=February 23, 2024|website=The Giving Pledge}}
See also
{{div col|colwidth=40em}}
- Charity (practice)
- Charitable organization
- Earning to give
- Effective altruism
- List of members of the Forbes 400
- Philanthrocapitalism
- The World's Billionaires
- Venture philanthropy
- Giving What We Can
{{div col end}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|https://givingpledge.org/}}
{{Effective altruism}}
{{Wealth|state=autocollapse}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Giving Pledge}}
Category:Organizations established in 2010
Category:Philanthropic organizations based in the United States
Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington (state)