More billionaires giving most of it away

Several of Socal's wealthiest people have signed on to the call by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to give the majority of their wealth to charity. All told, 40 billionaires have made what's being called the "Giving Pledge" (George Lucas and Larry Ellison are the latest to sign up). A Web site provides the names and their reasons for giving. Among the locals:

Eli and Edythe Broad: Those who have been blessed with extraordinary wealth have an opportunity, some would say a responsibility - we consider it a privilege - to give back to their communities, be they local, national or global. Though neither of us was raised in an affluent family, our parents taught both of us the importance of giving back and helping others less fortunate.

Michele Chan and Patrick Soon-Shiong: Growing up in South Africa during the time of apartheid, we had direct experience of inequality, including great disparities in health and access to good care. After thirty years living in the United States, we see similar disparities in health care on our doorstep in Los Angeles, and across the nation. What was unconscionable to us in South Africa in the twentieth century is just as unconscionable in the United States in the twenty-first.

Barron Hilton: Throughout [my father's] life, he embraced the power of prayer, and felt it was our God-given responsibility to alleviate the suffering of the most disadvantaged among us. He generously supported Catholic sisters and other worthy causes, writing personal notes to accompany his checks. But his $160 million estate created a new opportunity. Under the leadership of Don Hubbs, and now my son, Steven, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation has become a real agent for change. We focus on a need, find the right people or organization to fill that need, and then provide enough funding to create real systemic change.

Alfred Mann: I have been very fortunate in having been born to exceptional parents in this great country. I came from humble beginnings and grew to become a young scientist pioneering in a field of electro-optical physics. The US Army needed my help and actually set me up in business in 1956. Two years later the Air Force came to me for help with our country's first spacecraft. The success of my first company (Spectrolab, now a subsidiary of the Boeing Co.) has enabled me to leapfrog from one success to another, enabling me to amass a substantial fortune. I want to use those resources to make this a better world --- and to do as much as I can during my lifetime.