A dozen of the wealthiest families in the United States, including Tesla founder Elon Musk, have signed on to The Giving Pledge, a nonbinding agreement to give at least half of one’s wealth to philanthropic causes during or after their lifetime.
The Giving Pledge, established by renowned investor Warren Buffett with Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and his wife Melissa, began in 2010 with 40 participants and has now doubled to 81 signatories.
“We’ve said from the beginning that this is a long-term effort, but I’m particularly pleased to see continued momentum in encouraging greater and more thoughtful philanthropy,” Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Buffett said in a news release.
Almost half of the new Giving Pledge members live in California: Musk, who made his name at San Jose’s PayPal before founding Palo Alto-based electric car company Tesla; film producer Steve Bing; venture capitalist Michael Moritz, who works at Menlo Park’s Sequoia Capital, and his wife, novelist Harriet Heyman; Broadcom cofounder Henry Samueli and his wife, Susan; and Cupertino real estate developer John A. Sobrato, along with his wife and son.
“Each of us has provided that 100% of our wealth will be given away during our lifetimes or left to the Sobrato Family Foundation. … We would hope that this legacy of giving would encourage others to commit their financial resources to worthy nonprofit institutions,” the Sobratos said in the news release.
Other new members of The Giving Pledge include Home Depot cofounder and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank; Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, and his wife; Edgar Bronfman; Glenn and Eva Dubin; Clear Channel cofounder Red McCombs and wife Charline; SAS cofounder John Sall and wife Ginger; and Ted and Vada Stanley.
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