Head of TED Chris Anderson signs new “Wealth Pledge” to give 2.5% of wealth to high-impact charities each year

Jan 25 2024, London – In conjunction with the release of his new book Infectious Generosity, which highlights generosity as a tool to change the world for the better, head of TED Chris Anderson has committed to giving the greater of 2.5% of wealth or 10% of income to high-impact charities each year. Upon his suggestion, the nonprofit Giving What We Can, which inspires people to give more significantly and more effectively, has added this wealth pledge option to its longstanding 10% income pledge, signed by over 8000 individuals. The new wealth pledge option encourages the world's wealth holders to give more proportionally to their circumstances, recognising that for the very wealthy, income is only a small fraction of wealth.

In addition to becoming one of the first wealth pledge signers, Chris Anderson features this pledge in his book:

“The more I’ve thought about generosity, the impact it can have, and the joy it can bring, the more determined I’ve become that it be an absolute core part of my identity. Jacqueline’s work as a pioneering social entrepreneur has definitely inspired me, and together we’re now ready to sign that combination pledge, effectively committing to giving the higher of 10% of our income or 2.5% of our net worth in any given year for the rest of our lives.” - Chris Anderson, in Infectious Generosity.

Launched in 2009 by moral philosophers William Macaskill and Toby Ord, Giving What We Can reflects the core belief that — because of severe global inequality —even median income earners living in high-income countries have significant power to yield profound positive changes in the world through their donations. Prior to the new wealth option, the Giving What We Can pledge only acknowledged one of the two sources of money people have (income, but not wealth), excluding in some sense the ultra-wealthy from meaningfully joining the global effort to help those who need it most.

Will MacAskill, co-founder of Giving What We Can and author of NYT bestseller What We Owe the Future, shared this:

“Toby and I founded Giving What We Can with the aim to pioneer a new era in philanthropy: one where all people felt inspired to help solve the world’s most pressing problems through effective and impactful philanthropy. The option to pledge a percentage of wealth (rather than just income) makes perfect sense in light of this goal, and I’m excited to see those for whom it is appropriate start to use it!”

Along with its new wealth pledge component and standard 10% income pledge, Giving What We Can also has a trial pledge option (pledge a custom amount of income for a custom amount of time). We invite individuals from all walks of life to explore all of our pledge options and join us in making the world a better place, one donation at a time.

To learn more about Giving What We Can, donate to highly-impactful charities, find resources and research on effective giving, or take one of our giving pledges, please visit givingwhatwecan.org.

About Giving What We Can: Giving What We Can is a global community of effective givers and a resource hub for people who want to help solve the world’s problems. In addition to hosting and promoting the Giving What We Can pledge, the organisation provides charity recommendations, resources, and guides to help donors maximise their charitable impact.

Media Contact

Grace Adams
Head of Marketing
Giving What We Can
media@givingwhatwecan.org