Estate Planning

Billionaires Commitment to Giving Back Starts Now

By Hull and Hull LLP

In August, I blogged on the 'Giving Pledge', a moral promise, made by the extremely wealthy to give away half of their wealth in their lifetime or at their death.

This past Wednesday, December 8, 2010, the founders of the Giving Pledge announced in a press release that they have received 17 more pledges.   A list of all those who have pledged can be found here. Since June, when the Giving Pledge was launched by Bill and Melinda Gates together with Warren Buffet, a total of 57 billionaires have committed to leaving / giving away at least half their wealth for philanthropic purposes.

Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz are amongst those who recently pledged. Known for creating Facebook together, a story recently chronicled in 'The Social Network', Zuckerberg has taken the pledge to heart and recently gave $100 million dollars to public schools of Newark, New Jersey.  Zuckerberg has shown an obvious interest in seeing the impact of his philanthropic gifts. 

As I stated in my August blog, we can't be sure of the long term impact of this pledge, however, Buffett and Gates seem to be as committed as ever to this generous plan. In a recent Toronto Star article, Buffett is quoted, saying 'The Giving Pledge has re-energized people thinking about philanthropy and doing things in philanthropy and I look forward to many more conversations with families who are truly fortunate and whose generosity can and will change lives'. Buffett and Gates have visited China in their effort to spread the Pledge worldwide and plan on visiting India in March.  

In this season of giving, the focus on kindness and generosity displayed by the Giving Pledge is one we can all try to take to heart. .

Have a great weekend,

Nadia M. Harasymowycz - Click here for more information on Nadia Harasymowycz.

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on December 10, 2010 (boomark / email).