That is how tech entrepreneur Jeff Atwood sees the staggering wealth inequality in the U. His warning about the dangers of growing inequity was echoed by outgoing President Joe Biden in his final primetime speech Wednesday. Atwood, who co-founded Stack Overflow, a popular forum for software developers, made the pledge Jan.
Atwood's initial gifts support a range of nonprofits, from PEN America, which advocates for free speech, to reproductive health organization Planned Parenthood to Team Rubicon, a disaster response organization.
The commitment to give away half of his family's wealth is unusual even among the richest people. And beyond giving his own money away, Atwood sincerely hopes to move others to action. But I have to share it. But what he really wants is to inspire more people to believe that it's possible to create a more affordable and livable economy. But it can also help increase your impact by influencing others to give. He said the recent election had raised the stakes but was quick to emphasize in an interview that he's not committed to any political party.
What I care about is, are you creating humans that can help us build a better world? In pledging to give away half of his wealth, Atwood is following in the footsteps of a group of even wealthier people. In , Warren Buffett , Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates started the Giving Pledge, which invites billionaires β exclusively β to commit to giving away more than half of their wealth in their lifetimes or at the time of their death.
So far, have joined. Atwood said he was inspired by the pledge but is adding a time element of five years to move the money. Since , the group that sponsors the pledge, Giving What We Can, reports more than 9, people have signed on.
