Assoc Dir of CRI at IPS, Bella DeVaan, discusses billionaire’s failure to honor their commitments.

Bella DeVaan, Assoc. Dir. of the Institute for Policy Studies’ Charity Reform Initiative co-authored a report about billionaires’ failure to honor the Giving Pledge. Wealth ills are examined.

Assoc Dir of CRI at IPS, Bella DeVaan

Watch Politics Done Right T.V. here.

Podcasts (Video — Audio)

---

Summary

Bella DeVaan, Associate Director of the Charity Reform Initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies, exposes how billionaires who signed the Giving Pledge have failed to meet their commitments. Instead of redistributing wealth back into the economy, they have grown vastly richer, using philanthropic vehicles to maintain power, dodge taxes, and avoid accountability. This system, she argues, is broken and designed to protect billionaires at the expense of ordinary people.

• Billionaires who signed the Giving Pledge are 283% wealthier today than when they pledged to give away half their fortunes.
• Most donations go to foundations and donor-advised funds they control, not directly to communities in need.
• For every dollar billionaires give, taxpayers lose about 74 cents in public revenue through deductions and credits.
• Wealthy donors exploit tax loopholes, including the “buy, borrow, die” strategy, to live tax-free while working people carry the burden.
• The Institute for Policy Studies calls for higher wealth taxes, stronger payout requirements, and more transparency to restore fairness and democracy.

DeVaan makes clear that billionaire philanthropy is less about generosity and more about power preservation. The Giving Pledge was intended to serve as a tool for redistributing obscene concentrations of wealth. Instead, it has become a shield that allows billionaires to appear benevolent while hoarding resources. Progress demands bold tax reform and democratic accountability to ensure that the wealth created by workers flows back to the people—not into the dynastic fortunes of the ultra-rich.

---

Premium Content (Complimentary)

The conversation between Bella DeVaan and Politics Done Right exposes one of the most profound contradictions in American philanthropy: the billionaire class, whose fortunes were built on the labor of ordinary people, refuses to redistribute its wealth despite highly publicized commitments that could make a meaningful difference. What DeVaan describes is not simply a case of broken promises—it is an indictment of a system that allows billionaires to dictate the terms of social good while siphoning power and resources away from the public.

The Giving Pledge, launched in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, was touted as a moral revolution among the wealthy. Billionaires pledged to give away half their wealth in their lifetimes or at death. Yet, fifteen years later, the results are dismal. DeVaan and her colleagues at the Institute for Policy Studies found that these billionaires are not poorer but 283% wealthier than when they signed on. Some, like Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, have seen their wealth balloon over 4,000% in the same period. This alone shows how absurdly skewed the economic system is—one where wealth multiplies at rates far outpacing the broader economy, leaving working families behind.

The mechanisms of billionaire philanthropy reveal the rot in the system. While everyday Americans give directly—sending money to family, donating to food banks, or supporting local causes—the ultra-rich funnel their “gifts” into private foundations and donor-advised funds (DAFs). These entities are not neutral vehicles for generosity. They serve as power preservation tools, allowing billionaires to claim tax breaks while keeping control of the money. With mandatory payout rates as low as 5% (and often closer to 9% for the median foundation), the bulk of these funds remain invested, growing tax-free, while the billionaires reap reputational benefits.

The staggering taxpayer subsidy compounds this. As DeVaan notes, for every dollar a billionaire donates, the average taxpayer subsidizes 74 cents in lost revenue. That money could otherwise fund infrastructure, healthcare, or education. Instead, it enables the wealthy to control public priorities through private giving, effectively privatizing democracy. When billionaires decide what causes deserve funding, they substitute their worldview for that of the people. And often, these causes align with their economic interests or political agendas.

The result is a grotesque irony: billionaires avoid paying taxes, enrich their foundations, and then claim moral authority for “giving back” money that was never truly theirs to hoard. This is philanthropy as a shield—a way to launder wealth and power while forestalling real democratic accountability. As DeVaan highlights, billionaire wealth is not created in a vacuum. It is the product of workers’ labor, of public infrastructure, of a system rigged by lax regulations and corporate loopholes. To then channel that wealth into tightly controlled philanthropic vehicles is not generosity; it is exploitation wrapped in charity’s clothing.

The Institute for Policy Studies offers solutions rooted in fairness and democracy. Wealth should be taxed at higher rates, foundations should face stricter payout requirements, and transparency must be enforced so billionaires cannot hide behind anonymous vehicles. Most importantly, the system must recognize that public needs are best addressed through public institutions, not the whims of a handful of billionaires. True democracy means reclaiming control over resources that belong to the people.

The case of Mackenzie Scott, who has given away over $19 billion quickly and with trust-based methods, shows that genuine, impactful philanthropy is possible. Yet even Scott’s example highlights the absurdity of concentrated wealth. She gives away billions, and still, her fortune grows because the system keeps inflating the assets of the ultra-rich. This makes clear that wealth concentration itself is the problem. Charity cannot substitute for justice.

Progressives have long argued that democracy cannot coexist with oligarchy. If billionaire wealth continues to grow faster than the economy while workers’ wages stagnate, society will slide deeper into inequality and instability. As DeVaan notes, if foundations grow unchecked, they will be worth trillions, controlled by dynastic families, undermining both democracy and fairness.

The conclusion is unavoidable: the billionaire class has failed to honor its commitments because the system was never designed to hold them accountable. It was designed to preserve their wealth and power. Breaking this cycle requires robust progressive taxation, democratic reforms, and the political will to challenge the myth of billionaire benevolence. The wealth of the ultra-rich belongs not in perpetual foundations but in the public coffers, funding the schools, hospitals, and communities that built it in the first place.