Skip in Skip x Embed x Share CLOSE A new study shows 8 famous billionaires have a net worth that equals the poorest half of the world. Researchers are calling on world leaders to change that. USA TODAY NETWORK
Warren Buffett (right) stands with Bill and Melinda Gates on June 26, 2006 at a news conference where Buffett spoke about his financial gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in New York City. (Photo: Spencer Platt, Getty Images)
Welcome the newest class of billionaires who have pledged to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
Fourteen more billionaires have signed on to the Giving Pledge – the initiative created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010 to “help address society’s most pressing problems” by shifting “the social norms of philanthropy toward giving more, giving sooner and giving smarter.”
The new signatories plan to use their wealth to support causes focused on poverty alleviation, education, healthcare research, climate change and the environment.
“We all have a moral obligation as the more affluent in society to give back as best we know how,” MeTL Group CEO Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania said in a statement.
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More than 168 billionaires have now signed the pledge and they represent 21 countries and range in age from 31 to 93.
“Bill and Warren and I are excited to welcome the new, very international group of philanthropists joining the Giving Pledge, and we look forward to learning from their diverse experiences,” Melinda Gates said in a press release.
Here is the list of the newest members:
Chairman Emeritus and Executive Director of Ainsworth Game Technology,
President and CEO of MeTL Group
Philanthropist, pro-choice activist, widow of Ray Dolby, founder of Dolby Laboratories
DONG Fangjun (People’s Republic of China)
Kjell Inge Røkke and Anne Grete Eidsvig (Norway)
Chairman of Norwegian industrial investment company Aker
Nick and Leslie Hanauer (United States)
Venture capitalist and founder of Civic Ventures
Founders of media and entertainment company Outfit7
Dean and Marianne Metropoulos (United States)
Terry and Susan Ragon (United States)
Founder and CEO of InterSystems Corp.
Nat Simons and Laura Baxter-Simons (United States)
Investment management firm Meritage Group; co-founders of Sea Change Foundation
Founder and CEO of Vista Equity partners
YOU Zhonghui ( People’s Republic of China)
Chairwoman of Shenzhen Seaskyland Investment Holdings Group
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mermands on June 13rd, 2017 at 13:51 UTC »
https://givingpledge.org/ A list of those who have pledged along with their pledge letters. It's been around for a while.
HoldenTite on June 13rd, 2017 at 12:58 UTC »
Does it have to be third world poor or can it just be me and Charlie poor?
Alyscupcakes on June 13rd, 2017 at 09:05 UTC »
Saved you a click!