The Power of Half its Sunday collections to a local charity. Baumberger remarked: "What will we learn by practicing the power of half? What will this program teach our children and youth? I cannot wait to find out." Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, said she was inspired by the Salwens' philanthropic efforts. On December 9, 2010, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook's CEO), and investor Warren Buffett signed a promise they called the "Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge", in which they promised to donate to charity at least half of their wealth. After launching the Giving Pledge, the Gates invited the Salwens to Seattle
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation principal officers include Co-Chair William H. Gates, Sr. and Chief Executive Officer Susan Desmond-Hellmann. It had an endowment of $50.7 billion . The scale of the foundation and the way it seeks to apply business techniques to giving makes it one of the leaders in venture philanthropy, though the foundation itself notes that the philanthropic role has limitations. In 2007, its founders were ranked as the second most generous philanthropists in the US, and Warren Buffett the first. As of May 16, 2013, Bill Gates had donated $28 billion to the foundation. Since its founding, the foundation has endowed and