10 Families Join the ‘Giving Pledge’

Ten individuals and families have just agreed to sign the Giving Pledge, the effort launched in 2010 by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to persuade the world’s wealthiest people to commit to giving at least 50 percent of their wealth to charity. The number of donors and families committed to the pledge now stands at 137.

Those who just pledged are:

• Judy Faulkner, founder of the software firm Epic Systems
• Harold Grinspoon, a real-estate developer, and his wife, Diane Troderman
• Gordon Gund, an investor, and his wife, Llura
• Elie Horn, a Brazilian real-estate tycoon, and his wife, Susy
• John (Jay) Jordan II, an investor
• Brad Keywell, a co-founder of Groupon, and his wife, Kim
• Bill Scott, a former Berkshire Hathaway executive, and his wife, Ruth
• Hamdi Ulukaya, founder of Chobani yogurt
• Sunny Varkey, founder of GEMS Education, and his wife, Sherly
• Sir Ian Wood, a Scottish businessman

Giving pledge officials announced that the latest signers plan to support such causes as helping refugees around the world, advancing medical research and curing disease, improving education for youths, supporting children in underserved schools and neighborhoods, and promoting global development and economic opportunities in Africa.

Originally started with 40 families in the United States, the effort now includes billionaires in 14 countries.

“When we started the Giving Pledge, we had no idea we’d get this many people to come together,” said Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in a news release. “We hope to intensify philanthropy and encourage people to get started younger. It’s exciting to see people becoming bolder and more thoughtful in their giving.”