giving pledge

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Others Join Giving Pledge

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is the one of the latest billionaires to sign on to the Giving Pledge campaign started by Bill Gates and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. The Giving Pledge calls for billionaires to pledge at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death.

The list of those signed on to the Giving Pledge now has 57 families. The recent batch of billionaires include AOL co-founder Steve Case, investor Carl Icahn and Michael Milken who join Larry Ellison, George Lucas and Michael Bloomberg in the ultimate big givers roll call.

"People wait until late in their career to give back. But why wait when there is so much to be done?" said Mark Zuckerberg in a press release. "With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts."

A full list of those taking the pledge and personal letters by many of these pledgers outlining their commitment to give is available online at www.givingpledge.org. Carl Icahn said that "until Bill, Melinda and Warren started this project, I never considered going public with my intentions. However, I certainly see the value of a project that encourages wealthy individuals to step forward and commit to use their wealth for the common good. I hope that by adding my voice with those who are supporting this project, we will all encourage others to participate."

Tags: bill and melinda gat..., bill and melinda gates foundation, bill gates, dustin moskovitz, facebook, giving pledge, mark zuckerberg, melinda gates, philanthropy, warren buffett

Continue reading “Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Others Join Giving Pledge”

Chinese Billionaire Joins Gates/Buffett Giving Pledge

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Big Givers

A Chinese philanthropist has joined the Giving Pledge campaign started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Chen Guangbiao, chairman of Jiangsu Huangpu Renewable Resources Utilization, is a well-known Chinese philanthropist and wealthy businessman, he recently gave one million yuan (around $150,000) to the Pakistani flood victims. He is the first in China to respond to the campaign. Gates and Buffett plan to make their pitch to Chinese billionaires in person in Beijing, China at a special dinner on September 29. Around 50 super wealthy Chinese businesspeople have been invited to the banquet but some have opted not to attend.

News reports say that Chen Guangbiao posted an open letter to Gates and Buffett on his company website. The letter pledges that he will donate his entire fortune of more than five billion yuan ($735 million) to charity when he dies. Chen's letter says that it will be a "glory" to return his entire fortune to society and that it is a "shame" to die hoarding wealth.

He's no stranger to showy philanthropy. Earlier this year he built a "money wall" at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's (ICBC) Jiangsu Branch to collect donations for poor families. He was on the top of the 2010 China Charity List released by the China Association of Social Workers. It is said that he has already donated a total of 1.34 billion yuan.

Tags: bill gates, billionaires, chen guangbiao, giving pledge, philanthropy, warren buffett