Referring to the report published in Economic Times which read ‘With $21 billion, Premji Azim among world’s top philanthropists‘, Bill gates the American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian and founder of Microsoft Corporation tweets: “I’m inspired by Azim Premji’s continued commitment to philanthropy. His latest contribution will make a tremendous impact.”
I’m inspired by Azim Premji’s continued commitment to philanthropy. His latest contribution will make a tremendous impact. https://t.co/IOTiHxtivw
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) March 24, 2019
The Economic Times reported, ‘Azim Premji, India’s most generous billionaire, has announced a fresh bequest to his eponymous philanthropic initiative that boosts his total commitment to Rs. 1.45 lakh crore ($21 billion), making it one of the five largest private endowments in the world and the biggest in Asia. This has cemented the 73-year-old billionaire’s place alongside the world’s most influential philanthropists including Bill Gates, George Soros and Warren Buffett.’
It must be recalled that Billionaire Azim Premji on March 13, pledged to give away 34 per cent of his shares in Wipro Ltd worth Rs 52,750 crore ($7.5 billion) to charitable causes.
“Azim Premji has increased his commitment to philanthropy, by irrevocably renouncing more of his personal assets and earmarking them to the endowment, which supports Azim Premji Foundation’s philanthropic activities,” the city-based Foundation said in a statement.
As per the statement, with his new commitment, Premji’s total contribution to the philanthropic endowment corpus is Rs 145,000 crore ($21 billion), which includes 67 per cent of economic ownership of Wipro Ltd.
The Foundation works in the education sector, aiming to improve the quality of public schooling system, and supports other non-profit organisations working in the field through multi-year financial grants.
According to the statement, currently, the field work in education is spread across Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, along with some work in the northeastern states.