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In June 2010, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett started the Giving Pledge: an initiative aimed at getting billionaires to pledge at least half of their net worth to charitable donations.[1] So far, 40 individuals have signed up. The list includes household names like George Lucas, David Rockefeller, Larry Ellison, Michael Bloomberg and,[2] not least, founders Gates and Buffett, who have pledged significantly more than half of their net worth. The impact of the Giving Pledge is astounding[3]. Let’s look at these numbers and what they mean: •The combined net worth of pledgers: $230 billion •What could $230 billion do for the world? Feed more than 862 million hungry people for 7.7 years. Some billionaires, such as Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison have already pledged far more than half of their wealth. •Warren Buffett: $46.5 billion •If Buffett donated $46.5 billion today, it could treat over 1 million people affected with AIDS in Africa per year, for 30 years. •Larry Ellison: $26.6 billion •If Larry Ellison donated $26.6 billion today, it could provide laptops[4] for 133 million poor children. •With Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison and the other billionaires donating more than 50% of their wealth, $125 billion could go to charities today. •What could $125 billion do for the world? Educate over 80 million children in Africa for 12.5 years, or give cleaning water to 5 billion people for 200 years. | 
