Thirty-eight US billionaires have pledged to give away at least half of their wealth to charity, after persuasion from Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett.

Bill Gates pledges billions to charity

The seriously wealthy donations are being made by a number of US billionaires including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, entertainment executive Barry Diller and CNN founder Ted Turner, after Gates and Buffett started “The Giving Pledge”.

“The Giving Pledge” lists all the families and individuals who have committed to the project, with the website maintaining that the pledge is a “moral commitment” and not a “legal contract”.

The campaign was started by Gates and Buffett earlier in the year, as a way of convincing US billionaires to give away at least 50% of their fortunes within their lifetimes or after their deaths.

In a statement, Warren Buffett said: “We’ve really just started but already we’ve had a terrific response.

“The Giving Pledge is about asking wealthy families to have important conversations about their wealth and how it will be used.”

Those who pledge their money to “philanthropic causes and charitable organisations” must publicly state their intention through a letter of explanation.

Other billionaires who have pledged part of their fortunes include Star Wars film producer George Lucas, philanthropist David Rockefeller and oil investor T Boone Pickens.

In his Giving Pledge letter George Lucas wrote: “I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education. It is the key to the survival of the human race.”

The organisation says many of the donors have committed to donating sums far greater than the 50% minimum level.

“While the Giving Pledge is specifically focused on billionaires, the idea takes its inspiration from efforts in the past and at present that encourage and recognize givers of all financial means and backgrounds,” it says on the Givingpledge website.

Mr Buffett along with Mr Gates and his wife, Melinda, held numerous dinners with US billionaires in the past year to promote the campaign and urge America’s financial elite to pledge.

Mr Buffett, chief executive of investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, pledged 99% of his money to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and family charities in 2006.

In March 2010 Forbes Magazine estimated Mr Buffett’s wealth at $47bn (£29bn).

Bill Gates, who Forbes rates as the world’s second wealthiest person, has also given away more than $28bn to his foundation.

According to the magazine, there are 403 billionaires living in the US.

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