Warren Buffett got 11 more billionaires to agree to give away half of their wealth to charity.
The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic initiative started by the business mogul and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to get the super rich to pledge their fortunes early in their lives, so that they can have more control of how it’s spent. In the two years since it was launched, the pledge has recruited 92 billionaires, including the likes of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Some of the newest members of the benevolent club include Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin, along with Intel Chairman Emeritus Gordon Moore and his wife Betty, MarketWatch reports.
Moore, who already gave away half of his fortune when he established a foundation that focuses on science, health and environmental issues, told the Wall Street Journal that his giving habits already put him “ahead of the curve.”
"It won't change much of what I'm doing," he told the news outlet, but "it's a good idea and has shaken loose a lot money that otherwise would have been tied up for a long time."
Signing the pledge comes with the nonbinding agreement to donate at least half of one's fortune and doesn’t specify how the funds should be distributed, but Gates, who was named the richest person in the U.S. on Wednesday, told the Journal that he sees it as an opportunity for wealthy people to give in a “smarter” way.
“This new group brings extensive business and philanthropic experience that will enrich the conversation about how to make philanthropy as impactful as possible,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “Their thoughtfulness and deep commitment to philanthropy are an inspiration to me, and I’m sure to many others as well.”
Click through the slideshow below to see which other billionaires have pledged to give half of their fortunes away.
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