Nilekanis, 3 PIOs to donate over half of wealth

New York: Infosys co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani, his wife Rohini Nilekani and three Indian-origin billionaires have joined the philanthropic initiative created by philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, pledging to commit more than half of their wealth to charitable causes.

The Nilekanis, Aneel and Allison Bhusri, Shams-heer and Shabeena Vayalil and BR Shetty and his wife Chandrakumari Raghuram Shetty are among the 14 philanthropists to have joined the Giving Pledge throughout the previous year, bringing the total to 183 from 22 countries since the pledge began in 2010 with 40 American philanthropists, a press release from the Giving Pledge said on Wednesday.

Now in its eighth year, the philanthropy effort continues to expand internationally with the addition of philanthropists from Canada, India, the UAE, as well as the US.

The multi-generational initiative, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Buffett, invites the world’s wealthiest philanthropists to commit more than half of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetimes or in their wills.

“Over the past eight years, we’ve been inspired by the dedicated philanthropists who have chosen to join the Giving Pledge, and this year’s group is no exception. They are passionate about using their wealth to help reduce inequities and improve lives of everyone,” Buffett said.

US-based Bhusri is co-founder and chief executive officer of business software firm Workday. Forbes’ real-time rankings of the world’s billionaires pegs Bhusri’s net worth at USD 1.8 billion.

Shamsheer Vayalil is a doctor, entrepreneur and philanthropist and fou-nder and MD of UAE-based VPS Healthcare, one of the leading healthcare groups in the region, with 22 hospitals and over 125 medical centres in four countries, as well as one of the largest pharmaceutical plants in the UAE.

In their letter, Shamsheer and his wife Shabeena, who live in Abu Dhabi, said “for us, success means having created something that can make a positive difference in the lives of people.”

UAE-based BR Shetty and his wife Chandrakumari Raghuram Shetty also joined the pledge.     — PTI