The billionaire club is a unique category: Approximately 900 billionaires reside in the U.S., according to CNBC. However, an even more select circle comprises those billionaires who donate a substantial portion of their fortunes.
TL;DR
- Houston couple Rich and Nancy Kinder will donate 95% of their $11 billion fortune.
- The remaining $550 million will go to their children and grandchildren.
- The Kinders aim for their grandchildren to be proud and continue charitable giving.
- They are joining other billionaires like George Soros and MacKenzie Scott in significant philanthropy.
Notable figures like investor and philanthropist George Soros (who has given away an estimated 76% of his fortune), novelist and former spouse of Amazon creator Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott (contributing approximately 50%-60%), investor Warren Buffett (having donated 30% to date, with plans for pledged 99%), and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates along with Philanthropist Melinda French Gates (having pledged 20% so far, with further pledged 99%) are among those who have made significant charitable contributions.
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.”
Meet Rich and Nancy Kinder
The Kinders, a wealthy Houston couple, are well-known philanthropists, particularly for their substantial contributions to Houston-based initiatives such as arts organizations, medical studies, and urban improvement projects.
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 Coins2Day 500 ranking, with more than 30,000 miles of pipeline and a $66 billion market cap.
Nancy Kinder leads the Kinder Foundation as its president and CEO, an organization she and her husband founded in 1997. Their combined efforts have resulted in over $700 million in grants dedicated to enhancing urban green spaces, education, and the overall quality of life in Houston. Additionally, Nancy Kinder holds the position of chairman at The Downtown Park Corp. And serves as the advisory board president for Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
The Kinders rank among Houston's most affluent individuals and were early participants in The Giving Pledge. This philanthropic initiative, established in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, urges the planet's richest individuals to pledge publicly that they will give away at least half of their fortunes to charity, either during their lives or after their passing. The Kinder Foundation has contributed more than $890 million since it was founded.
The Kinder Foundation didn’t immediately respond to Coins2Day’s request for comment.
What experts in philanthropy advise regarding the distribution of wealth
As of August, 256 individuals, couples, or families have committed to The Giving Pledge, yet The Institute for Policy Studies discovered that 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.
Planning how much and when wealthy individuals intend to distribute their assets is especially vital, particularly for women, as we approach the $124 trillion Great Wealth Transfer, she stated last week during Coins2Day’s Most Powerful Women summit 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.”