Legitimation in The Giving Pledge: Constituting a Rhetoric of Wealth

Karen Gulbrandsen University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ; Christopher Eisenhart University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Abstract

In the United States, the 2010s saw a significant, organized wave of public philanthropy among the very wealthy. We conducted a discourse analysis of legitimation in The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic endeavor that began in 2010 in which billionaires encourage each other to publicly pledge to give away the majority of their wealth in their life or upon their death. We approach these texts with the questions, “Why do these individuals make these public pledges?” and “What rhetorical work is being done by them?” From the perspective of legitimation theory, how do these public, rhetorical acts constitute the social and economic orders into which they are made? Our discourse analysis of the pledges finds that they constitute two parts of an economic system of wealth, both wealth acquisition and the philanthropic giving of wealth. These constitutions in The Giving Pledge reify an institutional order by appending a promise to give back.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2025-07-01
DOI
10.1177/07410883251328318
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

References (41) · 3 in this index

  1. ABC News. (2010 August 4). The Giving Pledge: Billionaires promise to donate at least half their fortunes to …
  2. Amadeo K. (2022 January 10). The great recession by the numbers. The Balance. https://www.thebalancemoney.com…
  3. BBC News. (2010 August 4). US billionaires pledge 50% of their wealth to charity. BBC News. https://www.bbc.c…
  4. The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge
  5. 10.1007/s12115-015-9945-8
Show all 41 →
  1. 10.1525/9780520341715
  2. 10.1525/9780520340978
  3. American philanthropy
  4. Wealth
    The North American Review
  5. CBS News. (2010 December 9). Billionaires giving back. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/billionaire…
  6. Collins C. Flannery H. Ocampo O. Thomhave K. (2020). The Giving Pledge at 10: A case study in top heavy phila…
  7. 10.1111/ecin.12311
  8. Written Communication
  9. 10.1007/s10888-009-9123-6
  10. Daugherty R. (2024 September 27). How The Giving Pledge Works: The Elite Circle Of Billionaire Philanthropist…
  11. Di Mento M. Preston C. (2010 June 16). Wealthy Americans urged to give billions to charitable causes. The Chr…
  12. 10.1075/dapsac.31.02eis
  13. Forbes (2010 December 10). Zuckerberg 17 others pledge to give to charity. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/201…
  14. Fox News. (2010 August 4). Dozens of billionaires pledge to give half their money to charity. Fox News. https…
  15. 10.1017/S1049096516000676
  16. Becoming Warren Buffett
  17. Guth R. A. Banjo S. (2010 June 16). Gates Buffett goad peers to give billions to charity. The Wall Street Jou…
  18. Horowitz J. M. Igielnik R. Kochhar R. (2020). Trends in income and wealth inequality. Pew Research Center. ht…
  19. Loomis C. J. (2010 June 16). The $600 billion challenge. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2010/06/16/the-600-bill…
  20. After the harvest: Entrepreneurship and inequality
    Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research
  21. Meinero M. M. (2010 December 9). Zuckerberg joins Buffett charity pledge. CNN. https://money.cnn.com/2010/12/…
  22. Monitor’s Editorial Board. (2010 August 5). Warren Buffett Bill Gates and the billionaire challenge. The Chri…
  23. 10.1080/10570319209374406
  24. NBC News. (2010 August 4). 40 billionaires pledge to give away half of wealth. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.…
  25. 10.1177/0957926510395442
  26. Written Communication
  27. Ovide S. (2010 December 9). Which Wall Street tycoons are giving away their money? The Wall Street Journal. h…
  28. Written Communication
  29. 10.1075/dapsac.31.05rit
  30. 10.1007/s12115-021-00580-0
  31. 10.1007/s11266-021-00338-6
  32. Strom S. (2010 November 10). Pledge to give away fortunes stirs debate. The New York Times. https://www.nytim…
  33. The Giving Pledge. (2024 September 26). Frequently asked questions. https://givingpledge.org/faq
  34. The Guardian. (2010 August 4). US billionaires club together – To give away half their fortunes to good cause…
  35. 10.1177/1750481307071986
  36. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195323306.001.0001