Uber co-founder Garrett Camp has joined The Giving Pledge, a commitment to give away half of their wealth to charity. So has Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, who signed on along with his wife Rohini.
Camp’s net worth is estimated at $5.1 billion while Nilekani’s is estimated at $1.7 billion.
The Giving Pledge was created in 2010 by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to encourage the world’s richest people to “publicly dedicate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy” while they’re still alive.
In a personal blog post announcing his plans, Camp spoke of recent travels to Kenya, where he connected with people living without access to basic services like clean water, food and electricity.
“Beyond just making charitable donations, I [will] also begin spending part of my time on projects where hands-on systems design can create more efficient solutions, and help people who need it most,” he wrote.
Camp will be conducting philanthropic research and projects via a new foundation, Camp.org. He told CNBC in an email that the foundation’s research is just beginning and its initiatives will ramp up over the next few years.
The Nilekanis announced their commitment in a letter posted to The Giving Pledge website.
“Inequality is increasing sharply in most countries,” the wrote. “We see the young and the restless in this interconnected unsure of their future, wanting more but anticipating less…What must the super wealthy do?”
Through the EkStep foundation, the Nilekanis have thus far focused on education. In their statement, they promised to be supportive of “societal platforms,” including software that can be used to make a positive impact on those most in need.
According to reports from the Nonprofit Research Collaborative, more than half of the non-profits in the U.S. raise between 50 percent and 100 percent of their money from individuals rather than from foundations and corporations. Most of their largest gifts, however, come after a wealthy donor dies.
Source: Tech CNBC
Uber and Infosys co-founders are latest billionaires to join The Giving Pledge