Bill Gates away half of its value, as detailed in "The Power of Half". Gates and his wife invited Joan Salwen to Seattle to speak about what the family had done, and on December 9, 2010, Bill and Melinda Gates, and investor Warren Buffett signed a commitment they called the "Giving Pledge." The pledge is a commitment by all three to donate at least half of their wealth over the course of time to charity. Gates has also provided personal donations to educational institutions. In 1999, Gates donated $20 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the construction of a
USS Thomas S. Gates to Istanbul, where she disembarked VADM Ilg (9–10 August). Owing to the crisis in Lebanon, which had dictated that the fleet flagship, guided missile cruiser not carry out her scheduled visit to Sevastopol, "Thomas S. Gates" then operated in support of the "Coral Sea" and battle groups off Beirut. Returning to Toulon, "Thomas S. Gates" there underwent a period of maintenance (7–13 September). After taking part in NATO Exercise Display Determination 89 (14 September- 3 October) in concert with units of the French and Turkish Navies, she conducted a period of escort operations (3–11 October) as she transited to the