Dubai: Billionaire Dr Shamsheer Vayalil based in the UAE, chairman of the VPS HealthCare Group, has signed up for Warren Buffett’s ‘Giving Pledge’ initiative, it was announced on Saturday.
As part of the pledge, Dr Vayalil has promised to give away at least half of his wealth. This global network of 172 billionaires from around 22 countries has pledged to donate funds for international crises around the world.
Dr Vayalil and his wife Shabeena joined the cause to mark his 41st birthday and to mark the Year of Zayed giving, a statement said. In a letter addressed to Bill and Melinda Gates and Buffet, Dr Vayalil said: “My wife, Shabeena, and I are honoured to join the Giving Pledge campaign that you, Melinda and Warren initiated with a goal of creating a meaningful and viable impact in communities around the world.”
Elaborating on the tradition of giving in his family and the UAE, he added: “Our families have played a big role in instilling a sense of belonging for — and about — community and to help wherever and however we can for those who need it the most. Over the years, our philanthropic efforts have been both large and small, from free heart surgeries dedicated to the memory of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder President of the United Arab Emirates, to providing humanitarian aid to those affected by crises around the world.”
Vayalil is a leading health care businessman whose fortune is pegged at $1.7 billion and is in the process of setting up a philanthropy-based VPS Foundation.
