The New Billionaire's Club
- Carlos Slim Helú
- William Gates III
- Warren Buffett
- Mukesh Ambani
- Lakshmi Mittal
- Lawrence Ellison
- Bernard Arnault
- Eike Batista
- Amancio Ortega
- Karl Albrecht
These are the richest people in the world, according to a Forbes March 2010 article. Now, let's see who is part of a new type of billionaire's club, for true philanthropists only, called 'The Giving Pledge." Created by Bill and Melinda Gates, the Giving Pledge is an effort to involve the wealthiest individuals and families to give the majority of their wealth to philanthropic efforts and charitable organizations. Each person takes the pledge and makes a public statement, along with a short note explaining their decision to give more than receive.
Again, the same list, with only those who have taken the pledge:
- Carlos Slim Helú
- William Gates III
- Warren Buffett
- Mukesh Ambani
- Lakshmi Mittal
- Lawrence Ellison
- Bernard Arnault
- Eike Batista
- Amancio Ortega
- Karl Albrecht
That's right. Only three of the top ten wealthiest people have pledged to give the majority of their wealth away for positive change. And not everyone on the Giving Pledge list is a billionaire, but at least thirty billionaires out of the forty have signed it. You can view the complete list here.
Hopefully, people take their pledge seriously and it doesn't just turn out to be a public relations gig. But, it does make me wonder that this could be the new 'IT' thing. Maybe status will change based on what you can do rather than what you own? We will see...
By the way - where's Oprah??
-Lizette Romero
