Billionaire Peter Thiel has said that The Giving Pledge – philanthropic initiative started by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 2010, has fallen out of style. The campaign encourages world’s wealthiest individuals to donate majority of their wealth to charitable causes and has Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett as key signatories. In an interview with New York Times, Peter Thiel said: “They got an incredible number of people to sign up those first four or five years, and it somehow has really run out of energy”. “I don’t know if the branding is outright negative, but it feels way less important for people to join,” he added.
Peter Thiel wants signatories to ditch The Giving Pledge
According to a Fortune report, Thiel has asked many to reconsider the Giving Pledge. “I’ve strongly discouraged people from signing it, and then I have gently encouraged them to unsign it,” Thiel said. Thiel said he’s had conversations with some signatories who have expressed uncertainty about their original decisions to commit. “Most of the ones I’ve talked to have at least expressed regret about signing it,” he said.
When Peter Thiel told Elon Musk: Don’t give your wealth to Bill Gates
A report by news agency last year said that Peter Thiel once advised Elon Musk to step away from the Giving Pledge. The report then claimed to have reviewed transcripts and audio recordings of a lecture series where Theil told Musk that signing the pledge could mean his fortune would end up with “left-leaning nonprofits” selected by Bill Gates. During the interaction, the German-American entrepreneur also shared concerns about global power structures. He warned of the possibility of an authoritarian figure — which he described as an “Antichrist” — gaining control under the guise of solving global threats such as nuclear war, artificial intelligence, or climate change.When Thiel advised Elon Musk to not donate his wealth, Musk responded by saying “What am I supposed to do—give it to my children?”. To this, Theil replied “You know, it would be much worse to give it to Bill Gates.”
