I think this letter and <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;givingpledge.org&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;givingpledge.org&#x2F;</a> are good.<p>But we all give away wealth when we die. To someone or another.<p>The pledge is not necessarily one of generosity other than looking past one&#x27;s family. Which is something, but less impressive along the generosity dimension than giving away more earlier (while that money has a very real opportunity cost to you).<p>That said, if I had billions of dollars, I&#x27;d be investing in my own research and not giving it away. But that&#x27;s just me.