Bill Gates—Co-founded the Giving Pledge with Warren Buffett, encouraging billionaires to donate majority of wealth
In 2010, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett launched the Giving Pledge, a campaign encouraging the world's wealthiest individuals to commit more than half their wealth to philanthropic causes. As of 2025, over 250 signatories from 30 countries have joined. However, critics note the pledge is non-binding, and an IPS report found that few of the original 2010 pledgers have actually given away half their wealth, with Gates' own net worth more than doubling from $53B to over $115B since signing.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Transparency | +toward | secondary | +0.50 |
| Humanitarian Aid & Global Health | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.634 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.56)
Evidence (2 signals)
IPS report found Giving Pledge largely unfulfilled after 15 years, few donors gave away half their wealth
A 2025 Institute for Policy Studies report found the Giving Pledge remains mostly unfulfilled. Only one set of living 2010 pledgers (Laura and John Arnold) actually gave away half their wealth. Gates' own net worth more than doubled from $53 billion to over $115 billion since signing. Roughly 80% of donated funds went to private foundations rather than direct charitable giving.
Gates and Buffett launched Giving Pledge in 2010, now with 250+ signatories from 30 countries
The Giving Pledge website confirms the initiative was founded by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett in 2010, encouraging wealthy individuals to commit more than 50% of their wealth to philanthropic causes. Over 250 signatories from 30 countries have joined.