82-year-old billionaire follows Bill Gates' promise to give away 99% of their fortune
An 82 year old billionaire is following in the footsteps of Bill Gates by promising to give away 99% of her fortune.
Judy Faulker made her fortune after founding healthcare software company Epic Systems in 1979.
In 2013, she was described by Forbes as being the ‘most powerful woman in healthcare’, and as of July last year, she was estimated to be worth a whopping $7.8 billion.
However, Faulkner seems to be determined to part with her money after she signed a pledge to donate the majority of her wealth.
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The Giving Pledge was started by Bill Gates alongside his wife at the time, Melinda Gates, and businessman Warren Buffett.
The campaign is designed to encourage the wealthiest people in the world to commit to donating a large position of their fortune to charitable endeavors.
This public commitment aims to inspire other people to donate to good causes and hopes to create a new social normal around charitable giving.
Billionaires who have signed the pledge include tech moguls Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, as well as actor George Clooney.
Faulkner is among the names who have signed up to give away their wealth and she appears to be putting her money where her mouth is.
This comes after Faulkner’s foundation estimated last year that it would give $67 million to 305 different organizations, with the CEO aiming to hit $100 million a year by 2027.
In order to achieve this, Faulkner has been selling shares she has in her company and also set up a trust to govern the stock sell-back process so as to not destabilize the company.
According to a report by Fortune, just nine billionaires out the 256 signatories have ‘actually followed through on giving away half their wealth’.
In a statement, the Giving Pledge said: “For fifteen years, the Giving Pledge has helped create new norms of generosity and grown into a connected and active global learning community. The recent IPS report raises important questions that aim to encourage greater giving.
“Unfortunately, the report’s reliance on incomplete data, and its exclusion of significant forms of charitable giving—such as gifts made to foundations and other intermediaries—paints a misleading picture of the impact and intent of Giving Pledge signatories and the spirit and intent of the Giving Pledge.”
Bill and Melinda Gates first set up the pledge back in 2010, with Bill losing his spot as one of the ‘top 10 richest people’ in the world due to his charitable donations.