Houston billionaire couple plans to donate 95% of their $11 billion fortune to local causes: ‘I want our grandchildren to be proud’

This includes investor and philanthropist George Soros (b estimated at 76% His fortune was donated ) novelist and former wife of Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos Mackenzie Scott (about 50%-60%), and investor Warren Buffett (30% so far, but… I pledged 99%), and Microsoft Co-founder Bill Gates and philanthropist Melinda French Gates (20% so far, but also… I pledged 99%).

Now, a pair of Houston billionaires are joining the ranks of famous businessmen and philanthropists, pledging to donate the vast majority of their wealth. Rich and Nancy Kinder He said Houston news station ABC13 is donating 95% of its estimated $11 billion to local charities. The remaining $550 million will go to their children, who they hope will follow in their footsteps through charitable giving.

“I want our grandchildren to be proud of us, and I think they are. And I want them to know that this is what we expect of them when they grow up,” Nancy Kinder said. “They have to give back, and it’s not just about us. They have to take it forward.”

Who are the rich and nancy kinder?

Rich and Nancy Kinder are Houston-based billionaires and prominent philanthropists, most famous for their wide-ranging charitable giving focusing on local Houston issues such as arts organizations, medical research projects, and urban living conditions.

Co-founded Rich Kinder Morgan’s childrena major North American energy infrastructure company, where he continues to serve as Executive Chairman. Kinder Morgan Rank 193 Fortune 500 2025, with more than 30,000 miles of pipeline and a market value of $66 billion.

Nancy Kinder is president and CEO of the Kinder Foundation, which the couple created together in 1997. Together they have directed more than $700 million in grants toward urban green space, education and improving the quality of life in Houston. Nancy Kinder also serves as President of Downtown Park Corp. She is Chair of the Advisory Board of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University.

Together, the Kinders are among Houston’s wealthiest residents, and were among the first to sign the Giving Pledge, a philanthropic campaign launched in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett to encourage the world’s richest people to publicly commit to donating at least half of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetime or upon their death. The Kinder Foundation has donated More than $890 million Since its beginning.

The Kinder Foundation did not immediately respond luckRequest for comment.

What philanthropy experts say about donating wealth

Although 256 individuals, couples or families had signed the Giving Pledge as of August, the Institute for Policy Studies found that wealth It still gets assembled faster than it is abandoned.

“If wealthy donors like Giving Pledgers are not in time to deliver on their promises to donate more of their wealth, we must enact measures to ensure more donations actually reach working charities,” wrote Bella Devane, co-author of the report and associate director of the Giving Pledgers Foundation. Reform Charitable Initiative At the Institute for Policy Studies.

That’s why Connie Collingsworth, former chief operating officer and legal director of the Gates Foundation, emphasized the importance of philanthropic planning.

It is especially important – especially for women – to plan how much and when wealthy individuals are willing to give away their wealth, especially as we enter a global world $124 trillion is a huge transfer of wealthshe said last week in luckMost Powerful Women Conference in Washington, DC

“Giving today is much more sophisticated and sophisticated,” Collinsworth said, adding that wealthy individuals should consider starting to give away more of their wealth before they die.

“The issues are there today. There will be more money in the future,” she said. “Poverty will never go away.”