The billionaire club is an exclusive one: There are only about 900 billionaires in the U.S., according to CNBC. But an even more distinct group is the billionaires who give away a high percentage of their wealth.
That includes investor and philanthropist George Soros (an estimated 76% of his wealth has been donated), novelist and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos MacKenzie Scott (about 50%-60%), investor Warren Buffett (30% so far, but has pledged 99%), and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and philanthropist Melinda French Gates (20% so far, but has also pledged 99%).
And now, a Houston billionaire couple is joining the ranks of these famous businesspeople and philanthropists, pledging to donate the vast majority of their wealth. Rich and Nancy Kinder told Houston news station ABC13 they’re giving away 95% of their estimated $11 billion to local charities. The remaining $550 million will go to their offspring, who they hope will follow in their footsteps with charitable giving.
“I want our grandchildren to be proud of us, and I think they are. And I want them to know that’s what we expect of them when they grow up,” Nancy Kinder said. “They have to give back, and it’s not all about us. They have to carry it forward.”
Who are Rich and Nancy Kinder?
Rich and Nancy Kinder are Houston-based billionaires and prominent philanthropists, most recognized for their extensive charitable giving focused on local Houston causes like art institutions, medical research projects, and urban living conditions.
Rich Kinder cofounded Kinder Morgan, a major North American energy infrastructure company, where he still serves as executive chairman. Kinder Morgan ranked 193 on the 2025 Fortune 500 ranking, with more than 30,000 miles of pipeline and a $66 billion market cap.
Nancy Kinder is president and CEO of the Kinder Foundation, which the couple established together in 1997. Together they’ve directed more than $700 million in grants toward urban green space, education, and quality-of-life improvements in Houston. Nancy Kinder also serves as chairman of The Downtown Park Corp. and advisory board president at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Together, the Kinders are some of Houston’s wealthiest residents, and were among the first to sign The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic campaign launched in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett that encourages the world’s wealthiest people to publicly commit to donating at least half of their wealth to charitable causes during their lifetime or upon their death. The Kinder Foundation has donated more than $890 million since its inception.
The Kinder Foundation didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
What philanthropy experts say about giving wealth away
Although 256 individuals, couples, or families have signed The Giving Pledge as of August, The Institute for Policy Studies found wealth is still being accumulated faster than it’s being given away.
“If ultra-wealthy donors like the Giving Pledgers aren’t timely in fulfilling their promises to give away more of their wealth, we must enact measures to ensure more donations actually reach working charities,” wrote report co-author Bella DeVaan, associate director of the Charity Reform Initiative at The Institute for Policy Studies.
That’s why Connie Collingsworth, former COO and chief legal officer of The Gates Foundation has emphasized the importance of charitable planning.
It’s particularly crucial—especially for women—to plan how much and when wealthy individuals want to give their wealth away, particularly as we enter the $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer, she said last week at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women conference in Washington, D.C.,
“Today’s giving is much, much more sophisticated and much more complex,” Collingsworth said, who added wealthy individuals should consider starting to give away more of their fortune before they pass.
“The issues are here today. There’ll be more money in the future,” she said. “Poverty will never go away.”
