Bharat Desai and Neerja Sethi join the Giving Pledge
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Arun Kumar- 0
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Indian American couple among 11 new signatories—eight couples and three individuals— to the global philanthropic initiative
By Arun Kumar
Indian American entrepreneurs Bharat Desai and Neerja Sethi have joined the Giving Pledge, a global philanthropic initiative founded by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett.
Desai and Sethi are among 11 new signatories—eight couples and three individuals—in its largest cohort since 2021, who committed in the past year to donate most of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
Established in 2010 to encourage the ultra-wealthy to commit most of their fortunes to philanthropy, the Giving Pledge now boasts more than 250 signatories from 30 countries.
Desai with a net worth of $1.6 billion and Sethi with a net worth of $1 billion co-founded Syntel, an IT consulting and outsourcing company in 1980 right from their apartment. They support economic mobility, education and entrepreneurship.
They also donate through their foundation, the Desai Sethi Foundation (DSF), which supports underprivileged youth in Florida and Michigan. The couple also gives millions annually to a donor advised fund, while also supporting a number of nonprofits.
Desai graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and received his MBA from University of Michigan. Sethi graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and her MBA from Delhi University, and has also received her M.S. in Computer Science from Oakland University.
As part of this week’s “annual gathering,” pledge signatories will “focus on learning, connection, and continued efforts to turn their philanthropic commitments into catalytic action.”
“I’m excited to welcome these new Pledgers to our community of people who share a core belief: that we can solve urgent global challenges through giving our resources back to society,” said Bill Gates. “There’s never been a greater need for philanthropy—and there has never been a greater opportunity to have an impact in our own lifetimes.”
Nine of the new signees hail from the U.S., one from Australia and one from the U.A.E. Six of the new pledgers are members of Forbes billionaires’ list and have a combined estimated net worth of $9.3 billion.