Related’s Stephen Ross pledges half his wealth to charity

Real estate mogul is worth $4.4 billion

From left: Stephen Ross, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates
From left: Stephen Ross, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates

Related Companies’ Stephen Ross has pledged to donate half of his $4.4 billion fortune to charity, the New York Observer reported. 

Ross, the development company’s founder and chairman, joined “The Giving Pledge,” an initiative of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that calls upon the world’s top billionaires to give at least half their wealth to philanthropic causes. The pledge currently had 114 signatories, who run the gamut from technology to real estate and represent a number of countries.

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Ross ranks No. 286 on Forbes’ 2013 list of 1,426 global billionaires, who collectively have a net worth of $5.4 trillion. Related broke ground on its 15-million-square-foot Hudson Yards project in December, and recently secured fashion retailer Coach as an anchor tenant for the 47-story, 1.7-million-square-foot South Tower. [NYO] –Hiten Samtani