Billionaires in big charity pledge

NEW YORK: Dozens of US billionaires pledged to give at least 50 percent of their fortunes to charity as part of a philanthropic campaign by two of the world’s richest men — Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

Based on Forbes magazine’s estimates of the billionaires’ wealth, at least $150bn could be given away.

Among the rich joining The Giving Pledge campaign are New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, media moguls Barry Diller and Ted Turner, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Star Wars movie maker George Lucas and energy tycoon T Boone Pickens.

Forty of the richest people in the United States, including Microsoft founder Gates and investor Buffett, now have taken the pledge.