Overview
- New signups fell to four in 2024 and 14 in 2025, a steep drop from 113 families in the initiative’s first five years.
- Peter Thiel has pressed signatories to rescind commitments and has derided the effort as an “Epstein-adjacent, fake Boomer club,” including urging Elon Musk to withdraw.
- Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong removed his name from the pledge in 2024, and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison said he was amending his commitment to prioritize for-profit research.
- Critics fault the pledge for lacking enforcement or donation tracking, noting that commitments can be satisfied through estates or parked in foundations and donor-advised funds for years.
- The pledge’s interim lead says the community counts more than 250 donors across 30 countries, highlighting large gifts by signatories such as Mackenzie Scott in 2025 and Warren Buffett over time.