Businessmen like Jonathan M. Nelson and Reed Hastings normally focus on generating the maximum amount of profit from their work as possible. But the two men have joined Warren E. Buffett and Bill Gates in pledging to dole out most of their wealth to charity.
Mr. Nelson, the founder of Providence Equity Partners, and Reed Hastings, the chief executive of Netflix and a board member of Facebook, are among the latest signatories to the Giving Pledge, the initiative announced on Tuesday.
That means that both have committed to giving away at least half of his wealth to philanthropy, a gesture meant to inspire greater charitable giving among the nation's richest denizens. (Skeptics contend that the initiative is little more than a stunt, since many of its members have already given away big sums to charity.)
Others in Tuesday's list include Romesh Wadhwani, the founder of the Symphony Technology Group; Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel; Charles R. Bronfman, formerly of the Seagram Company; and Jorge M. Perez, the chief executive of the real estate firm the Related Group.
That brings the total number of families committed to the pledge to 92, putting them in the company of Mark Zuckerberg, Barry Diller and David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group.
“I always thought if I were lucky enough to be in a position to help others, I would,†Mr. Nelson said in a statement. “The vast majority of Americans are this way. This is who we are.â€
His firm, founded in 1989, has become a major player in the business of investing in media and technology companies, with about $27 billion under management. Providence's previous deals include its having taken stakes in the Warner Music Group, Univision and the online video service Hulu.
And Mr. Hastings has become one of Silicon Valley's more prominent executives, given not only Netflix's status, but also his perches on corporate boards like those of Facebook and Microsoft .
Here's the full list of the latest round of Giving Pledge signatories:
- Manoj Bargava
- Charles R. Bronfman
- Dan and Jennifer Gilbert
- Reed Hastings and Patty Quillin
- Peter B. Lewis
- Gordon and Betty Moore
- Jonathan M. Nelson
- Jorge M. and Darlene Perez
- Claire and Leonard Tow
- Albert Lee Ueltschi
- Romesh and Kathleen Wadhwani
