By Barry Cox I f you had $1 million could you give half of it away? Today there are 1810 billionaires globally representing $6.48 trillion on assumed wealth. It is sometimes hard to understand that number given that most entrepreneurs will never be millionaires let alone bil- lionaires, but if you were, how much of that wealth would you be com- fortable giving away. Well for 143 of the world’s wealthiest people they are comfortable giving away over half of it over their lifetime through a program named The Giving Pledge. Bill and Melinda Gates along with Warren Buffett established the organization after they questioned wealthy people about their philan- thropic ideas. The pledge is a moral commitment which is not legally binding. Members have total control over the management of their donation. The pledge only requires that you have a net worth over $1 billion and you commit to dedicating over half your wealth throughout your lifetime or by means of your will. The response has been staggering. Bill and Melinda Gates have managed a successful foundation for years before they instituted The Giving Pledge. The Gates’ professed to ``give it all away`` during their lifetime, leaving only a fraction of their over $77 billion fortune to their three children.
The nearly $710 billion held by the 143 contributors represents a new and powerful direction in philanthropy anticipated to grow with coming generations. Much of the effort has concentrated on the Unites States although recently membership has gone global. Of the 143 members the United States has 118. The UK is second with 9. Canada has 4, India and Russia both have 2members. Countries with just one member consist of the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Pakistan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Germany, Ukraine, South Africa, and Australia. Well for 143 of the world’s wealthiest people they are comfortable giving away over half of it over their lifetime through a program named The Giving Pledge. There have been critics of the movement. Wealthy Germans went public with disapproval of the foundation financing projects they identify as duties of the state. They find it objectionable for wealthy people to use donations as tax breaks and feel the money is better in the hands of government to dispense where it is needed. Additionally, some pledges endowed through wills have been subject to court chal- lenges and IRS probes. Most would agree the biggest frustration to date has been a lack of involvement from the wealthiest. The US and UAE are the only nations on the richest countries in the world list with members. Qatar, Lux- embourg, Singapore, Brunei, Kuwait, Norway, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia have no citizens involved. Also countries like China with 213 bil- lionaires or Germany with 103 have been less benevolent than poorer nations such as Pakistan.
Warren Buffett has pledged to give away over 95% of his over $66 billion in riches via the Gates’ Foundation.
The pledges are being made by both the young and old with an age range from 29 to 100 as members. Some famous names making the pledge include Michael Bloomberg, Paul Allen, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson, George Lucas and Ted Turner.
Canada lists 89 billionaires, one of the first to sign The Giving Pledge was
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS • MAY 2016
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