The founders of Moderna, Canva and Craigslist are amongst a brand new wave of ultra-wealthy figures pledging to provide away the majority of their fortunes. The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic marketing campaign that simply marked its fifteenth anniversary, has lengthy attracted billionaires inclined towards large-scale giving, and this yr was no exception. In 2025, 14 new signatories joined the pledge, bringing its whole membership to almost 260 and ushering in a brand new cohort of influential figures shaping world philanthropy.
The Giving Pledge started in 2010 with simply 40 signatories, together with founders Warren Buffett, Invoice Gates and Melinda French Gates. Its core dedication encourages members to donate a minimum of half of their wealth over the course of their lifetimes. Through the years, the roster has expanded to incorporate distinguished figures corresponding to Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Steven Schwarzman.
Regardless of its star energy, the initiative’s real-world affect stays a topic of debate. In lots of circumstances, the wealth of members has grown quicker than their giving, in accordance with a latest report from the Institute for Coverage Research that discovered the mixed wealth of authentic U.S. members has surged 283 p.c over the previous 15 years, with a lot of their philanthropy flowing into non-public foundations somewhat than direct charitable giving.
Nonetheless, the pledge continues to draw the world’s wealthiest people. The philanthropic priorities of this yr’s new signees—starting from cybersecurity and schooling to psychological well being and gender equality—really feel notably well timed because the nonprofit sector grapples with decreased federal funding and a broader pullback in world support.
Right here’s a have a look at how the latest signees of the Giving Pledge say they plan to distribute their wealth within the years forward:
Connie and Bob Lurie
- Supply of wealth: business actual property
- Philanthropic pursuits: well being, schooling and California causes
Bob Lurie’s fortune is tied to actual property, together with his household’s Lurie Co. having at one time owned iconic San Francisco properties just like the Mark Hopkins Lodge and Curran Theatre. However he’s greatest recognized for his one-time possession of the San Francisco Giants, which he acquired in 1976 to forestall the staff from transferring to Toronto and offered in 1992. Bob and his spouse Connie have since funneled a lot of their wealth into philanthropy. The couple has centered closely on early-career scientists by presents to grantees just like the Gladstone Institutes. Final yr, they gave seven-figure presents to California organizations like WeHope, San Jose State College and the Monterey Bay Aquarium by the Connie and Bob Lurie Basis.
Craig and Eileen Newmark
- Supply of wealth: Craigslist
- Philanthropic pursuits: veterans, cybersecurity, journalism and fowl rescue
Craig Newmark, who based Craigslist in 1995, has shifted his focus to charity since stepping away from the labeled commercials web site in 1995. By signing up for the Giving Pledge, Craig and his spouse, Eileen, are doubling down on their donations to causes corresponding to veteran assist and cybersecurity. The entrepreneur has additionally beforehand funneled his wealth into journalism efforts, such because the Craig Newmark Graduate Faculty of Journalism on the Metropolis College of New York, and is an avid supporter of pigeon rescues.
Seemay Chou and Jed McCaleb
- Supply of wealth: cryptocurrency
- Philanthropic pursuits: science and expertise
It shouldn’t come as a shock that science and expertise are on the forefront of Seemay Chou and Jed Mccaleb’s philanthropic pursuits. McCaleb, who has an estimated internet value of $2.9 billion, is the entrepreneur behind cryptocurrency corporations corresponding to Mt. Gox, Ripple and Stellar. In the meantime, Chou co-founded the life sciences firm Arcadia Science. The couple’s joint work has included operating the A.I.-focused nonprofit Astera Institute and funding areas corresponding to scientific analysis and digital sentience by their philanthropic automobile, the Navigation Fund, which is partially funded by GPU leases to A.I. firms.
Jay and Michaela Hoag
- Supply of wealth: expertise investments
- Philanthropic pursuits: well being, schooling and Bay Space causes
Along with supporting larger schooling institutes like Northwestern College and the College of Michigan, Jay Hoag—co-founder of funding agency Know-how Crossover Ventures—and his spouse Michaela have funneled funds into native Bay Space organizations like Second Harvest of Silicon Valley. One of many couple’s largest ardour areas, nevertheless, is Alzheimer’s analysis, with Michaela having helped increase tens of millions to search for a remedy.
Lisa and Matt Sonsini
- Supply of wealth: actual property
- Philanthropic pursuits: inequality
The Giving Pledge is a household affair for Lisa Sonsini, the daughter of actual property billionaire John Sobrato, who first signed up for the marketing campaign alongside his son in 2012. Now Lisa and her husband Matt are becoming a member of the pledge in an effort to spice up their philanthropic efforts by the Sobrato Household Basis, which focuses on areas like earnings inequality, housing and sustainability, and earlier this yr promised to dole out greater than 25 p.c of its $1 billion in property.
Jim and Anna McKelvey
- Supply of wealth: Block
- Philanthropic pursuits: schooling, expertise and well being
Jim Mckelvey notably co-founded Block, previously generally known as Sq., alongside Jack Dorsey in 2009. However the businessman’s pursuits transcend fintech—he’s additionally a supporter of glass blowing and coding-focused profession applications. Jim, who has an estimated internet value of $1.6 billion, and his spouse Anna moreover associate with quite a lot of health-focused funds by Alpha Epsilon, their main philanthropic automobile.
Xin Liu
- Supply of wealth: electronics
- Philanthropic pursuits: psychological well being and local weather change
In her Giving Pledge letter, Xin Liu pledged to spend down the Enlight Basis, a philanthropic group she based in 2004, which focuses on supporting and empowering younger folks. Liu, who’s married to Duan Yongping, founding father of the BKK Electronics Group, stated that her basis’s main funding areas going ahead will embrace psychological well-being and local weather change, which she described as “two of the most important challenges going through younger folks right this moment.”
Joseph Deitch
- Supply of wealth: monetary companies
- Philanthropic pursuits: schooling and social affect
Within the late Seventies, Joseph Deitch co-founded broker-dealer Commonwealth Monetary Community. However his pursuits don’t cease there. Deitch has additionally ventured into actual property, Broadway producing and philanthropy. A few of his most notable charitable efforts embrace founding the Deitch Management Institute at Boston Latin Faculty and establishing the Elevate Prize Basis, which yearly awards tens of millions of {dollars} to acknowledge and assist social affect leaders.
Bharat Desai and Neerja Sethi
- Supply of wealth: IT consulting
- Philanthropic pursuits: schooling and financial mobility
Bharat Desai and Neerja Sethi are an influence couple in IT consulting. The duo, who’ve an estimated internet value of $1.6 billion, launched Syntel within the Nineteen Eighties whereas working from their Michigan house. Now, they’re partnering as much as be part of the Giving Pledge and proceed their philanthropic assist of schooling, financial mobility and aiding underserved youth by organizations just like the Desai Sethi Basis and Ds Basis.
Glen Tullman
- Supply of wealth: well being care
- Philanthropic pursuits: well being and schooling
The philanthropic pursuits of Glen Tullman, CEO of digital well being startup Transcarent, stay carefully tied to the workplace. Donations from the chief, who additionally previously led well being firm Livongo, have been primarily channeled into well being care up to now, alongside investments in schooling. His most up-to-date charitable dedication will see Tullman pledge $100 million to spice up diabetes analysis, as introduced in his Giving Pledge letter.
Noubar Afeyan and Anna Afeyan Gunnarson
- Supply of wealth: biotech
- Philanthropic pursuits: humanitarian causes, schooling, science and well being
Biotech firm Moderna, co-founded by Noubar Afeyan, gained mainstream recognition a number of years in the past when it developed a COVID-19 vaccine. Afeyan can be the founding father of the life sciences-focused enterprise capital agency Flagship Pioneering and has an estimated internet value of $1.9 billion. Alongside his spouse, Anna, the billionaire is now making ready to extend his donations to causes corresponding to science and expertise, schooling and well being care. The duo can be a serious backer of humanitarian causes by efforts such because the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, which highlights the work of humanitarian leaders worldwide and awards the annual $1 million Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.
Drew and Erin Houston
- Supply of wealth: Dropbox
- Philanthropic pursuits: science and expertise
Drew Houston is the co-founder and CEO of Dropbox, a file-sharing service whose recognition has helped develop his fortune to an estimated $2.1 billion. By changing into members of the Giving Pledge, Drew and his spouse Erin at the moment are dedicated to funneling a few of that internet value into areas like STEM analysis and open-source tech initiatives. The couple’s former philanthropic exercise has included supporting the Dropbox Basis, which was based in 2018 to assist human rights organizations globally.
Cameron Adams and Lisa Miller
- Supply of wealth: Canva
- Philanthropic pursuits: surroundings
The $3.8 billion fortune of Cameron Adams largely stems from Canva, the software program design maker he helped discovered greater than a decade in the past. His spouse Lisa Miller, in the meantime, leads the Australian couple’s nature-focused funding fund, the Wedgetail Basis, which primarily helps causes like biodiversity. The surroundings will stay on the forefront of their philanthropic focuses going ahead as Adams and Miller decide to halting and reversing the decline of nature. “By means of the Giving Pledge, we’re directing the vast majority of our wealth towards this, as a result of the choice—inaction on a dying planet—is unacceptable,” stated the duo of their pledge letter.
Muna Easa Al Gurg
- Supply of wealth: Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group
- Philanthropic pursuits: gender equality and schooling
Muna Easa Al Gurg, a businesswoman from Dubai, serves as vice chairperson and director of retail for her household enterprise Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, a UAE conglomerate. Anticipate gender equality to be one of many philanthropic areas she helps within the years forward. Along with launching a scholarship for feminine MBA college students at London Enterprise Faculty, Al Gurg is a supporter of initiatives just like the 30 p.c Membership, a corporation selling gender steadiness in management roles.
