‘I’m a billionaire – there’s one thing that the world’s richest are missing’

Forbes unveiled its annual Billionaires List this week and the numbers are staggering: a record 3,028 billionaires now hold a combined wealth of more than $16trillion. The top 15 boast personal fortunes of more than $100billion. Elon Musk sits at the top, worth $342billion. Yet these figures arrive at a moment when the world is grappling with mounting crises: climate change, economic inequality, refugee emergencies, and failing healthcare systems, to name a few. Against this backdrop, I ask my fellow billionaires: What are you waiting for?

Being on the Forbes Billionaires list is more than a measure of success, it’s a profound privilege. My wealth has afforded me opportunities beyond imagination. But with great wealth comes great responsibility – one too few of us are embracing. That’s why I’ve pledged to give away at least 70% of my wealth to charitable causes. I’m not saying that to boast, but because I believe it’s the right thing to do – and because I want others to do the same.

I signed the Giving Pledge because I believe individual wealth, when used wisely, can be one of the most effective forces for good on the planet. It can improve innumerable lives and affect change in places that nation states, non-governmental organisations and corporations can only dream of.

If 50% of the world’s 3,000 richest people pledged to give away half their fortunes, we could unlock more than $4trillion – more than enough to transform education systems, eradicate preventable diseases, and elevate countless individuals from poverty. And I can’t help but wonder – if I can commit to giving away my wealth, what more could those with two or three times my fortune achieve? The potential to drive change is almost limitless.

And yet, this kind of giving remains the exception, not the rule. Many billionaires see philanthropy as a side project, something to consider once the empire is built or the next funding round complete. The world’s richest individuals choose to fund vanity missions to Mars while our own planet sits on the brink of irreversible climate change.

Money is so often used to perpetuate itself, entrenching political power and evading taxation rather than spent in the pursuit of a genuinely worthy cause. The Giving Pledge, co-founded by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, is one of the most noble and important initiatives of our time. It asks billionaires to commit at least half of their wealth to charitable causes.

A billionaire isn’t necessarily required to donate a single penny during their lifetime; contributions can be fulfilled posthumously. Of course, for those who give during their lifetime, there’s also the spiritual benefit from seeing for yourself the transformation you make possible. I experience that every day seeing the difference Caudwell Children and Caudwell Youth make in the UK.

Yet despite results like these, fewer than 250 people have signed the Giving Pledge. Less than 8% of this year’s Forbes billionaires’ class of 2025. It’s now time for the rest to step up. Of course, giving money away is not something that comes naturally to most people, but the reality of a billionaire donating 50% of their money is not the same as it is for most people.

The downside is extremely limited, and the upside enormously beneficial. Wealth will mean nothing if society has fallen apart. As the first Briton to sign the pledge more than 12 years ago, it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. My donations and the change they drive will outlive me. So I urge those on the list; now is the moment to sign the Giving Pledge. Make a real, public commitment. And if the pledge isn’t right for you, then find another vehicle. But give generously and give now. The need has never been greater.

Even more so for the new names on this year’s list – many of them young and unburdened by tradition and outdated values. They have the chance to redefine what it means to be wealthy in the 21st century. To set the standard for a legacy to be about what you gave, not just what you kept.

Now is the time for bold leadership. Public action inspires others. The world needs the unimaginably wealthy to be more than a league table of unimaginable wealth. We have the resources, and a responsibility to step up. We have the influence; we have the moral obligation.

Let’s commit to a future where wealth is a tool for good, not a trophy, and where the world’s wealthiest are a force for regeneration, not division. We should rise to the challenge of this moment, because if we don’t, history won’t be kind to us, and nor should it be.

• John Caudwell is a businessman and philanthropist