\n<\/p>\n
Warren Buffett is making a rare public statement to reassert his allegiance to the Giving Pledge<\/a>, a commitment made by the world\u2019s wealthiest philanthropists to give the majority of their wealth to charitable organizations throughout their lifetime or in their wills. The Pledge, however, is now facing a \u201cbillionaire backlash,\u201d according to The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Buffett wants people to know that the Giving Pledge is working as intended, even as it faces attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI firmly believe in the Giving Pledge and consider it quite a success, though my physical limitations have eliminated my participation in the annual get-together,\u201d the billionaire wrote in a recent email to The Times. \u201cI have continued to contact possible members but only on a minor scale in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n Buffett created<\/a> the Giving Pledge in 2010 with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, and credits the Pledge with establishing a new philanthropic norm<\/a> among the ultra-rich.\u00a0The philanthropic billionaire pledged to donate over 99% of his wealth<\/a> to philanthropy during his lifetime or at death.<\/p>\n Over the past two years, the Pledge has faced \u201ca growing backlash from the billionaires who are its target donors,\u201d the Times reported. Billionaire Peter Thiel has emerged as the most vocal critic, telling the Times that he has privately urged about a dozen signers to retract their pledges.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMost of the ones I\u2019ve talked to have at least expressed regret about signing it,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thiel is warning fellow conservatives that participation in the Pledge risks funnelling fortunes into \u201cleft-wing nonprofits chosen by Bill Gates.\u201d However, Ron Conway, a venture capitalist close to Gates, told the Times that the Pledge is not \u201caligned with liberal causes,\u201d stating that it has plenty of support from conservatives and moderates.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond Thiel\u2019s campaign, there are structural signs that the Pledge has stalled. After a surge of early signers, the rate of new commitments has dropped sharply: just a few dozen billionaires have joined in the past five years, versus more than a hundred in the first five.\u00a0It\u2019s unclear why this drop has occurred.<\/p>\n Several billionaires have quietly distanced themselves, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, whose pledge letter disappeared from the website in 2024 with no public explanation, according to the Times.<\/p>\n In 2025, Oracle\u2019s Larry Ellison stated that he was \u201camending<\/a>\u201d his commitment to provide funding to his own research institute and to for-profit ventures not covered by the Pledge.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the years, the Giving Pledge has become \u201cold school\u201d and a \u201ctime capsule\u201d of the 2010s, Aaron Horvath, a sociologist who has studied the Pledge, told the Times. He said billionaires now believe, \u201cI can keep my head down and keep making money. I don\u2019t have to put up with this charity charade anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the Times, Thiel and his allies are advancing a kind of \u201cvoracious capitalism,\u201d arguing that the \u201creal way to give back\u201d is to build successful businesses and drive innovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Pledge, by contrast, frames large-scale giving as a moral obligation<\/a> once fortunes exceed any reasonable consumption or investment need, per TechCrunch<\/a>. In this view, philanthropy is a solution to problems that pure profit-seeking will not touch, from global health to extreme poverty.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Warren Buffett is making a rare public statement to reassert his allegiance to the Giving Pledge<\/a>, a commitment made by the world\u2019s wealthiest philanthropists to give the majority of their wealth to charitable organizations throughout their lifetime or in their wills. The Pledge, however, is now facing a \u201cbillionaire backlash,\u201d according to The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n Buffett wants people to know that the Giving Pledge is working as intended, even as it faces attacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI firmly believe in the Giving Pledge and consider it quite a success, though my physical limitations have eliminated my participation in the annual get-together,\u201d the billionaire wrote in a recent email to The Times. \u201cI have continued to contact possible members but only on a minor scale in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nPushback against the Pledge<\/h2>\n
Different approaches to giving<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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