The Giving Pledge – About

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The Giving Pledge is a philanthropic commitment platform founded by Gates and Buffett. While not directly about AI safety, it represents a major channel through which billionaire philanthropists—some of whom fund AI safety research—coordinate large-scale giving, potentially relevant to AI safety funding ecosystems.

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Summary

The Giving Pledge is a philanthropic initiative founded in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, encouraging billionaires to commit the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. Over 250 signatories from 30 countries have joined, forming a collaborative learning community. A Next Gen group extends engagement to younger generations of philanthropists.

Key Points

•Founded in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett to mobilize billionaire wealth for global philanthropic causes.
•Over 250 signatories from 30 countries have pledged the majority of their wealth to philanthropy during their lifetime or at death.
•Pledgers operate independently but collaborate through learning sessions and joint giving efforts on issues ranging from climate to global health.
•A Next Gen group launched in 2014 now has 300+ participants aged 18–75, extending philanthropic norms across generations.
•Focuses exclusively on individuals with net worth of at least $1 billion due to the scale of resources they can deploy.

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About the Giving Pledge

 Joining the Giving Pledge is more than a one-time event—it means becoming part of an energized community of some of the world’s most engaged philanthropists. More than fifteen years since its founding, the Giving Pledge has created new norms of generosity and evolved into a connected, forward-thinking, and active global learning community.

 
 
 

 
 How it began

 Founded by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, the Giving Pledge launched in 2010 to unlock vast resources to address the world&#8217;s most urgent issues. Since then, more than 250 of the world’s wealthiest philanthropists from 30 countries have joined together in this promise.

 

 
 
 
 How it works

 

 
 Philanthropists join the Giving Pledge through making a public commitment, and many write letters to explain their reasons behind joining. They pursue their philanthropy independently and often come together to learn or embark on collaborative giving efforts.

 Pledgers support a wide array of issues in every corner of the globe and give in a multitude of ways. What unites them is a shared promise and a commitment to creating an impact.

 
 
 

 
 Finding connection, inspiring action

 Being part of this community means Pledgers don’t need to go it alone. It means finding trusted peers to learn with and from.

 The first fifteen years of the Giving Pledge brought profound impact, learning, and connection, but much work remains to be done. The remarkable growth of the community means there are now more opportunities than ever for Pledgers to collaborate, learn from one another, and make an impact together.

 
 See who has taken the Pledge 
 
 

 
 Shifting norms, lasting impact

 Since the very beginning of the Giving Pledge, it has focused on those with a net worth of at least one billion dollars (or who would be billionaires if not for their giving) due to the enormous potential of the resources they can deploy.

 That potential has translated into impact in every corner of the globe—from shifting philanthropic norms to seeding innovation and helping people survive and thrive worldwide.

 
 Explore stories of our signatories&#8217; impact 
 
 

 
 Engaging across generations

 In 2014, in response to interest from children and grandchildren of Pledgers, the Giving Pledge Next Generation group—or &#8220;Next Gen&#8221;—was born. The goal of the Next Gen group is to enable participants to achieve the impact they hope to see in the world—either through their own philanthropy, or by supporting their family’s philanthropic endeavors.

 Today, the Next Gen group has more than 300 active participants around the world, ranging in age from 18 to 75.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death. Measured by dollars, this commitment is large. In a comparative sense, though, many individuals give more to others every day.&#8221; 
 
 Warren Buffett, Pledged in 2010 
 

 

 
 
 Pledge letter 
 
 


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