These Billionaires Pledged To Give Away Their Wealth. Instead, Most Are Getting Wealthier.
The Giving Pledge just turned 15.
Bill Gates, Melinda French, and Warren Buffett founded the Pledge in August 2010 to boost charitable giving among billionaires. Pledgers agree to give away half or more of their wealth within their lifetimes, or upon their deaths.
The effort was inspired by Duty Free Shoppers founder Chuck Feeney, the reluctant billionaire who advocated “giving while living.” Feeney gave away over $8 billion before he died, relinquishing his billionaire status to live a more modest life. “[Feeney] told me we should encourage people not to give just 50 percent,” Gates recounted, “but as much as possible during their lifetime.”
The Giving Pledge is the largest and most visible public commitment that billionaires have made to distribute their vast fortunes. Over 256 individuals, couples, and families have signed, including 194 from the United States.
Our tax code’s charitable deductions effectively allow billionaires to “opt out” of taxes—ostensibly to give back through charity. In the absence of higher taxes on the wealthy that could fund a stronger social safety net, voluntary commitments like the Giving Pledge are important.
But in an era of staggering wealth inequality—and tax avoidance—privately held fortunes are larger than anyone can fathom. And charitable contributions simply aren’t keeping up with what could be raised from a fairer tax code.
In our new report, The Giving Pledge at 15, we found that the explosive growth of Giving Pledgers’ wealth is outpacing their giving. At this rate, the Giving Pledge appears to be mostly an empty promise.
Along with our co-authors Helen Flannery and Dan Petegorsky, we analyzed the philanthropic records of the pledgers.
Some are bold and direct, like MacKenzie Scott, who’s vowed to “keep at it until the safe is empty.” Others need to pick up the pace, like John Paul DeJoria, whose foundation has awarded $54 million since its inception eight years ago—a paltry sum compared to his roughly $3 billion fortune. And there are those who seem to cravenly intertwine personal benefit with philanthropy—like Elon Musk, who in 2021 enjoyed some fortuitously timely tax relief from a stock transfer to his foundation.
Across nearly every example, there’s proof that the Pledge is unfulfilled, unfulfillable, and not our ticket to a fairer, better future.
Read the full article on Newsweek
Originally in Newsweek.
