Billionaire Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison will join film director George Lucas and 38 other mega-wealthy people in following a call by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to pledge to give the majority of their riches to charity.

On Wednesday, Mr. Buffett announced that 40 of America's wealthiest individuals and families, from former Citigroup Inc. leader Sandy Weill to hotel mogul Barron Hilton, have signed the 'Giving Pledge.'

Mr. Buffett and Mr. Gates in June had asked the individuals and families to publiclycommit to give away at least half of their wealth within their lifetimes or after their deaths.

The pledge stemmed from a series of dinners the two men held for the nation's billionaires over the past year to discuss the effects of the recession on philanthropy.

The push by Mr. Buffett and Mr. and Ms. Gates is publicizing what had been a private matter for many wealthy people. Many of those who joined the pledge already had intended to give away much of their money.

In an interview, Mr. Buffett said that while the pledge push might produce a short-term boost in giving, the main goal is to set an example over the long term for others to get involved in philanthropy.

'The behavior of those before does affect what happens with those after, particularly if those people are somewhat admired in society,' Mr. Buffett said. 'If Carnegie and Rockefeller hadn't done what they'd done, there'd be less philanthropy in the United States today.'

Mr. Buffett said he and Mr. Gates in coming months will meet with wealthy individuals in China and India to talk about the pledge in the hopes of adding more names from outside the U.S.

Some signatories on the list Wednesday came as a surprise. Mr. Ellison, the software mogul, is among those who had been involved in philanthropy but hadn't stated their intentions so publicly.

Mr. Ellison said he has put virtually all his assets into a trust with the intention of giving away at least 95% to charitable causes and has already given hundreds of millions of dollars to medicalresearch and education.

Mr. Lucas, creator of the 'Star Wars' franchise, said he was 'dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education' in a pledge letter on the Giving Pledge website. 'It is the key to the survival of the human race,' he wrote.

In an interview, Tom Steyer, founder of hedge fund Farallon Capital Management LLC in San Francisco, said he and his wife had planned to give away their wealth but decided to go public after Mr. Buffett called.

Other billionaires on the list, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, had previously stated their plans to give away the majority of their wealth but said calling attention to their plans will encourage others to follow suit.

Shelly Banjo / Robert A. Guth

• director [di´rektə] n.指导者；....长；导演 (初中英语单词)
• pledge [pledʒ] n.信物；誓约vt.使发誓 (初中英语单词)
• riches [´ritʃiz] n.房地产；丰富 (初中英语单词)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
• commit [kə´mit] vt.犯(罪)；把...判处 (初中英语单词)
• wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)
• series [´siəri:z] n.连续；系列；丛书 (初中英语单词)
• wealthy [´welθi] a.富有的；丰富的 (初中英语单词)
• interview [´intəvju:] n.&vt.接见；会见；交谈 (初中英语单词)
• affect [ə´fekt] vt.影响；感动；假装 (初中英语单词)
• intention [in´tenʃən] n.意图；打算；意义 (初中英语单词)
• medical [´medikəl] a.医学的；医疗的 (初中英语单词)
• research [ri´sə:tʃ] n.&vi.调查；探究；研究 (初中英语单词)
• management [´mænidʒmənt] n.管理；处理；经营 (初中英语单词)
• encourage [in´kʌridʒ] vt.鼓励；怂勇；促进 (初中英语单词)
• oracle [´ɔrəkl] n.预言(者)；圣理名言 (高中英语单词)
• founder [´faundə] n.奠基者 v.陷落 (高中英语单词)
• behavior [bi´heiviə] n.举止，行为 (高中英语单词)
• decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
• previously [´pri:viəsli] ad.预先；以前 (高中英语单词)
• warren [´wɔrən] n.养兔场；大杂院 (英语四级单词)
• virtually [´və:tʃuəli] ad.实际上，实质上 (英语四级单词)
• charitable [´tʃæritəbəl] a.仁爱的；慈善的 (英语四级单词)
• creator [kri:´eitə] n.创造者；设立者 (英语四级单词)
• publicly [´pʌblikli] ad.公然；公众所有地 (英语六级单词)
• franchise [´fræntʃaiz] n.选举权；特许权 (英语六级单词)
• calling [´kɔ:liŋ] n.点名；职业；欲望 (英语六级单词)