After 15 years, the Giving Pledge yields mixed results

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In June 2010, Bill GatesMelinda French Gates and Warren Buffett Started which can be described as the world’s most ambitious funding drive. After promising to remove the vast majority of his wealth, Trio asked his ultra-rich companions to pledge to donate at least half of his property during his lifetime or during his wealth.

In two months, the Giving Play signed up to signed up with 40 American richest families and individuals. The first batch of the pladers, including Michael Bloomberg and David Rockfeller, was announced 15 years ago this week.

Since, the pledge has lost steam when it comes to enrollment. By the end of 2010, the 57 signature representing the estimated 14% of the US billionaires had recently made a non -obligation commitment. Report By Institute for Policy Studies. Currently, according to the progressive think tank in the pledge, there are commitments of 256 individuals, couples and families, including 110 American billionaires. This group creates 12% of the US billionaire population as is estimated by Forbes,

The annual number of sign-up has also flagged off from that first year. Even in 2020 when the epidemic motivated the rich donors to give more, the Giving Play made only 12 new signs. In this last May, the pledge welcomed 11 new members, a significant improvement in four of four in the records of 2024.

Meanwhile, in the last 10 years, Number of billionaires According to UBS, more than half of the world has increased by more than 2,891. The UBS stated that his assets also doubled from the estimated $ 15.7 trillion.

“It is disappointing that you will expect more people to move,” Chak colinsGreat-grandson of Program Director and Meetpacker Oscar Mayor at IPS.

The report co-writer Collins said that rapid growth in money could be partially guilty. This boom in money has also made it challenging for the pleasures to remove their money fast.

“Some of these are quite sudden, wealth increased,” he said, “So you got to give to people … a decade, if you only to find out this to get into the billionaire class.”

What a pledge to give has been successful, it depends on whom you ask. The IPS report described the Giving Play as “incomplete, incomplete, and our tickets for a fair, better future” and identified only a living couple to fulfill the pledge, John and Laura Arnold.

A spokesperson of the Giving Play described the IPS report as a “misleading” and said that the IPS used incomplete data and excluded “important forms of giving charitable” including gifts for the foundation.

A spokesperson wrote to Inside Wealth in a statement, “For fifteen years, the Giving Play has helped to create new criteria of generosity and develop into a connected and active global teaching community.”

Coalins said that there is some merit in the promotion of giving, “it is” described as a community of peers among a group, who do not have a lot of colleagues. “

Indian University Lily Family School of Philanthropy Dean Amir Pasik said that it had a permanent impact of how the rich thinks about giving them.

“I still think it was a really important effort to make the new money that emerged early in this century social,” he said. “We can interesting to argue in interestingly whether it has been successful or not, but it has become a feature of high-to-a-qualified philanthropic landscape.”

However, after the pledge nomination, citing collective blue meridian partners, Pasik said the pledge enrollment has accelerated.

Pasic said that some billionaires, especially the youth, may be reluctant to connect themselves with gates and buffetts, this does not mean that they are not contributing in their own way, Pasik said.

“Buffett is a senior representative of new wealth at the beginning of this century. New representatives have emerged,” he said.

According to Colins, Impact investment And other options of traditional philanthropy have obtained traction, especially among the new class of technical billionaires. He gave examples OracleLarry Ellison Revision of her pledge To focus on your resources on technology research rather than traditional non -profit organizations.

“I think the profit and non -profit, charity vs. impact is slightly more staining for investment,” Coalins said.

Venture Capital billionaire Mark Andresen so far to declare that innovation of technology – and collecting personal money in this process – is philanthropic in itself.

“Who receives more value from a new technology, a single company that makes it, or millions or billions of people who use it to improve their lives?” It is written in 2023,

Pasik said that it is possible that Bill Gates’s recent commitment Leave almost all his money In the next 20 years, one can bring a new request to the pledge to give.

“I think it is yet to be seen,” he said, “is it going to be a kind of end of a private club that becomes less relevant or if it starts something wider, then getting new energy in this turbulent time and other types of groups… or other collectives.”