Just when you think Bill Gates can't get any more awesome, he goes and does something like "The Giving Pledge". If you haven't heard, Bill Gates is arguably the largest philanthropist in history, having given nearly 28 billion dollars to charity (as of 2007) through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The benefactors of their generosity are many, including billions of dollars for HIV, Polio and Vaccination research; huge grants for US Libraries, Universities, and Scholarship programs; and millions more in disaster relief and hygiene infrastructure in the developing world.
His philanthropy was enough to impress Warren Buffet a few years ago, convincing him to leave his entire fortune to charity at the time of his death, and now Gates and Buffet are tag-teaming fellow billionaires, hoping to add signatures to The Giving Pledge, effectively promising to bequeath at least 50% of their fortunes to the less fortunate. Thus far, 40 wealthy estates (including 30 billionaires) have signed on, with Bill and Warren hosting further meetings in the coming months for gentle arm twisting and general shmoozing. You cold Bill, you cold.
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