At its core, the Giving Pledge is deceptively simple: it asks the world's wealthiest individuals to commit the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
MacKenzie Scott donated $2.15 billion in 2023 to a total of 360 groups in 35 U.S. states plus in Brazil, India, according to Forbes. Scott has a lifetime giving amount of $16.58 billion with a giving focus on economic, racial and gender equality. The philanthropist has a net worth of $35.3 billion.
Back in 2010, Buffett created the Giving Pledge, an ambitious initiative designed to encourage the world's wealthiest people to commit to donating half their fortune to charity within their lifetime.
After spending much of his life dominating the “world's richest” lists, Gates has vowed to give away 99.96% of his wealth through his charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which advances education and public health initiatives around the globe.
Many novice investors lose money chasing big returns. And that's why Buffett's first rule of investing is “don't lose money”. The thing is, if an investors makes a poor investment decision and the value of that asset — stock — goes down 50%, the investment has to go 100% up to get back to where it started.
Buffett, 94, plans to donate 99.5% of his remaining wealth, valued on Friday at $149.7 billion according to Forbes magazine, to a charitable trust overseen by his daughter and two sons when he dies.
Despite being the sixth-richest person globally, Warren Buffett continues to drive a 2014 Cadillac XTS he purchased with hail damage. Although he can afford any luxury vehicle, Buffett prefers the practicality of his 10-year-old car.
This is what the memes get exactly wrong: billionaires don't become and stay rich by hoarding; that's the last thing they want to do with their money. There are related myths and assumptions, such as that the only way to accumulate a net worth of so much money is through evil, if not outright unethical, means.
Chuck Feeney lived that dream but he wasn't content simply with becoming a billionaire - no, he set himself a further a goal. To give away his entire multi-billion dollar fortune while he was still living.
Six years ago, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates started a campaign called The Giving Pledge to have billionaires promise to give away at least half of their fortunes to charity. Since then, almost 200 billionaires have pledged to give their money to foundations and charities rather than to their children.
Bezos also hasn't signed the Giving Pledge, a commitment started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010 that calls on the world's wealthiest people to pledge at least half of their wealth to philanthropy.
Make a specific request.
If you leave a donation appeal open-ended, the person may not end up donating, or may only give a few dollars. But if you ask for a specific amount, it takes a lot of guess work out of the equation for that individual, and makes it easier to commit to your request.
Susan Thompson Buffett (June 15, 1932 – July 29, 2004) was an American activist for the causes of civil rights, abortion rights and birth control, and the first wife of investor Warren Buffett.
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, who both rank high among the richest men in the world, have been friends for decades. It began in the 1990s and led to joint ventures and world-changing philanthropy.
The 90/10 rule in investing is a comment made by Warren Buffett regarding asset allocation. The rule stipulates investing 90% of one's investment capital toward low-cost stock-based index funds and the remainder 10% to short-term government bonds.
Always sell a stock it if falls 7%-8% below what you paid for it. This basic principle helps you always cap your potential downside. If you're following rules for how to buy stocks and a stock you own drops 7% to 8% from what you paid for it, something is wrong.
“We test the wisdom of retaining earnings by assessing whether retention, over time, delivers shareholders at least $1 of market value for each $1 retained.” This will assess whether management's capital allocation decisions are creating value for shareholders.
Religious practice is the behavioral variable most consistently associated with generous giving. Charitable effort correlates strongly with the frequency with which a person attends religious services. Evangelical Protestants and Mormons in particular are strong givers.
Reportedly, over $27 million has been channeled to charities through her foundation.
Thanks to a record donation of $10,569,002 to the Ressler-Gertz Foundation, actress Jami Gertz and her husband, Anthony Ressler, top the list of the 30 Most Generous Celebrities compiled by The Giving Back Fund, a non-profit organization that tracks philanthropic giving worldwide.