Airbnb billionaires pledge wealth to Gates-backed philanthropy platform

Yesterday, all three Airbnb founders, each though to be worth around $3.3bn, pledged to donate the majority of their wealth to the Giving Pledge, which is a philanthropic initiative backed by Warren Buffet and the Gates Foundation. Upon joining, members must commit to give away more than 50% of their fortunes either during their lifetimes or in their wills. So far, 154 billionaires (including Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Michael Bloomberg, and Elon Musk) have joined, pledging to help solve global problems such as poverty, and poor access to healthcare and education.

The Airbnb founders. Airbnb

Since its launch in 2008, Airbnb has grown to be a $25 billion company. Now, the founders of the tech startup are giving a huge chunk of that money to charity.

On June 1, all three Airbnb co-founders — Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk — announced that they'll donate the majority of their wealth to the Giving Pledge, a philanthropic initiative started by Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates. To join the pledge, members must commit to give away more than 50% of their fortunes either during their lifetimes or in their wills.

The Airbnb founders, who are each estimated to be worth about $3.3 billion, are part of a group of 17 billionaires who just added their names to the Giving Pledge's growing list.

Made up of 154 billionaires from 16 countries, including Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Michael Bloomberg, and Elon Musk, the Giving Pledge group aims to solve the world's most pressing problems, like poverty, healthcare, and access to education. Members can donate their wealth to charitable organizations of their choice.

The new batch of members come from a diverse array of fields, including tech, medicine, real estate, and agriculture.

They're not the first tech moguls to give away large portions of their wealth, of course. In late 2015, Zuckerberg announced he will donate 99% of his Facebook shares — valued at $45 billion — to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which focuses on education, health, and connecting people. The co-founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar, established a foundation that has given nearly $270 million to human rights causes.

"This new group joining the Giving Pledge is incredibly thoughtful about their desire to give back and help solve the world’s toughest challenges through philanthropy," Bill Gates said in a statement. "Some have been giving for decades and others are just starting out after building successful businesses, but they all see the value of giving in a bold and effective way."