When Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett unveiled the Giving Pledge in 2010, it sounded almost radical: convince the world's richest to part with at least half their fortunes for the greater good.
The idea carried the moral weight of a handshake, not the force of law, but it came wrapped in the urgency of "giving while living," a philosophy championed by Chuck Feeney—the billionaire who famously gave away every dollar of his $8 billion fortune before he died.
Fifteen years later, the scorecard is in.
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To date, 256 individuals, couples, or families have signed the Giving Pledge—194 from the U.S. and 62 from other countries. But the Institute for Policy Studies' new report, The Giving Pledge at 15, reveals just how few have kept pace with their promises.
Of the 57 U.S. billionaires who signed in the first year, 32 are still billionaires—collectively worth $908 billion today, a 283% increase since 2010, 166% adjusted for inflation. Most have become far richer than when they joined, while just one living couple—Laura and John Arnold—has actually given away half their wealth.
The Houston-based philanthropists are known for funding criminal justice reform, public health, and education initiatives. John Arnold, a former Enron trader who later founded hedge fund Centaurus Advisors, and his wife have donated an estimated $4.76 billion—enough to meet the pledge's goal of giving away at least half their fortune.
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The IPS analysis found that pledgers have donated an estimated $206 billion, but about 80% of it—$164 billion—was funneled into private foundations, with another $5 billion to donor-advised funds. These vehicles can legally hold and invest charitable dollars for years without distributing them to operational nonprofits. In 2023, the 44 foundations tied to the original living pledgers held $120 billion and paid out a median of just 9.2%.
Even in death, few meet the mark. Of 22 deceased U.S. pledgers, only eight gave away at least half their fortunes before or at death, and Feeney was the only one to part with his entire wealth while alive. For most, their fortunes grew faster than their giving, making the pledge virtually impossible to fulfill at the current pace.
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If the surviving 2010 pledgers still worth $1 billion or more were to honor their commitments today, $367 billion would flow to charity—nearly matching the total given by all U.S. individuals in 2024. But IPS warns that, thanks to tax breaks of up to 74% for the wealthiest households, this could also slash federal revenue by as much as $272 billion, reducing support for public programs.
The report's recommendations are blunt: raise minimum payout requirements for foundations and donor-advised funds, increase transparency, enforce rules against abuse, and tax large fortunes more fairly to prevent such vast accumulations in the first place. Above all, it urges a return to Feeney's "giving while living" ethos.
"The Giving Pledge at 15" suggests the initiative will either be remembered as a turning point in billionaire philanthropy—or a cautionary tale of grand promises parked in private accounts. As IPS puts it, relying on billionaires to fix the problem on their own "will weaken and impoverish public life."
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