Zerodha's Nikhil Kamath becomes 4th Indian to join 'The Giving Pledge'

In his thirties, the Zerodha co-founder has pledged to give away half his wealth

Zerodha Co-founder Nikhil Kamath has become the fourth and youngest Indian to join ‘The Giving Pledge’, founded by Warren Buffett, Melinda French Gates, and Bill Gates.

The campaign, launched in 2010, aims to encourage wealthy people to publicly declare their intention to donate at least half their wealth to charitable causes. It is open only to billionaires who wish to make a public declaration of their intention to give away wealth. Data from the campaign’s website shows that over 240 people from 29 countries have committed to giving their wealth to charitable causes as of 2023.

North America has the maximum number of pledgers, that is, 182 among the regions. Europe has 27 pledgers, followed by the Middle East (9), and East Asia (8). India is now fifth on the list with four pledgers including Nikhil Kamath, who signed the pledge this week (chart 1).

Azim Premji, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Rohini and Nandan Nilekani are the other pledgers from India.

“The Giving Pledge aims to shift the norms of philanthropy among the world’s wealthiest people by inspiring them to give more, establish their giving plans sooner, and give in smarter ways. This is done in part by building a community where Giving Pledge signatories can attend learning sessions, share best practices, and exchange ideas for maximising the impact of their giving,” according to its website.

Kamath and his brother Nithin Kamath, also the co-founder of Zerodha, contributed Rs 100 crore of their personal wealth, majorly towards disaster relief, in 2022, according to the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List.

The annual list compiles data on charitable giving among the wealthy. The average age of the Indian philanthropist has moved up over recent years, show reports over the last few years. The average age of philanthropists was 64 years in 2019. This increased to 69 years in 2022 (chart 2).

Kamath was the youngest philanthropist in the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy list 2022.