The Giving Pledge just turned 15.

Bill Gates, Melinda French, and Warren Buffett founded the Pledge in August 2010 to boost charitable giving among billionaires. Pledgers agree to give away half or more of their wealth within their lifetimes, or upon their deaths.

The effort was inspired by Duty Free Shoppers founder Chuck Feeney, the reluctant billionaire who advocated "giving while living." Feeney gave away over $8 billion before he died, relinquishing his billionaire status to live a more modest life. "[Feeney] told me we should encourage people not to give just 50 percent," Gates recounted , "but as much as possible during their lifetime."

The Giving Pledge is the largest and most visible public commitment that billionaires have made to distribute their vast fortunes. Over 2

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