US EditionBillionaires Pledged to Give Away Most of Their Money. Now There Is a Backlash
Sign-ups for the Giving Pledge have dropped to four in 2024 and 14 in 2025, while some signatories express regret or withdraw, reflecting changing views on philanthropy.
- Privately, Thiel encouraged about a dozen Giving Pledge signers to undo commitments, calling it a 'fake Boomer club', Thiel said.
- The Giving Pledge, launched by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett, initially drew wide enthusiasm with over 250 signers but recent years saw sign-ups slow to just four in 2024 and 14 in 2025.
- Some signatories have quietly withdrawn or amended pledges, notably Brian Armstrong withdrawing and Larry Ellison publicly amending, while observers note the Giving Pledge lacks enforcement and tracking.
- Observers warn the shift away from the Pledge could tighten philanthropic funding flows, reflecting broader skepticism of traditional philanthropy, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
- Thiel's own philanthropy includes the Thiel Fellowship, whose alumni built companies worth over $100 billion, and he previously urged Elon Musk to retract his pledge over concerns about left-wing nonprofits.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Billionaires bolt from Bill Gates’ scandal-scarred Giving Pledge as critics brand it ‘Epstein-adjacent’
The Bill Gates-backed campaign urging billionaires to donate most of their fortunes is reportedly facing backlash as tech moguls mock the effort and Gates’ Epstein ties continue to shadow the initiative.
Billionaires Are Starting to Cool to the Giving Pledge
Warren Buffett once predicted his big philanthropy experiment would unleash "trillions" for charity; 15 years later, some of the billionaires it targets are trying to kill it. In the New York Times , Theodore Schleifer charts the rise and stall of the Giving Pledge—Buffett and Bill and Melinda French Gates'...
Peter Thiel criticizes ‘The Giving Pledge,’ steers billionaires away from it
Billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel now wants to steer people away from “The Giving Pledge,” a public commitment launched in 2010 by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet for the wealthiest people to give up over half their wealth during their lifetime or after their death. This is a voluntary and unenforceable promise. The Giving Pledge’s roster includes names like Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and Elon Musk, according to TechCr…
Peter Thiel is not just sceptic towards The Giving Pledge, he has worked actively to deter the campaign from inside.
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