The swelling ranks of the planet's mega billionaires committing to 'The Giving Pledge' initiative set up by Bill Gates has a new member. Turkish-born Hamdi Ulukaya has announced that around half of his estimated $1.41 billion wealth will be earmarked for charity works.
Ulukaya made his fortune in Greece with his Chobani yogurt. As part of the moral pact that he had made with The Giving Pledge, Ulukaya plans to fund the charitable activities of a foundation called Tent. Tent is mostly engaged on works that ease the plight of refugees around the world.
Getting involved with The Giving Pledge, which Microsoft co-founder Gates had set up with Warren Buffet, is an exceptional opportunity to collaborate with like-minded billionaires, Ulukaya told The Associated Press, per the report by Syracuse.com.
Prior to this latest commitment, the Chobani CEO gave his word on funding the aid groups that focus on refugees trying to escape from Turkey. Ulukaya revealed too that he has already decided on giving away a sizeable portion of his wealth.
Moral commitment
The Giving Pledge is all about moral commitment as there are no legalities that bind the members to the pledge they have made. Buffet told ABC News that the group members join in on the thought that the excess money they have can be utilized to uplift the lives of others.
"The money has great utility to other people," the Berkshire Hathaway chief executive said. Ulukaya is the latest recruit on an initiative that operates on the principle of saving lives and doing it now.
According to Buffet, asking somebody in involves some amount of convincing. Those who are initially hesitant, he confronted with the truth that life is short and there is no way a person will live forever, no matter how rich.
So the billionaire poses the question: "What are you thinking about doing with all that wealth that you've got?"
Growing
The group also counts the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk as committed members and according to Gates, the swelling of generosity continues. As of 2015, The Giving Pledge has a total of 133 signees, the former Microsoft CEO told ABC.
