Bill Gross's 'Staggering' Gift Puts Him Just Shy of the World's Most Generous Billionaires

Giving away $700 million of his fortune has put billionaire bond investor Bill Gross among the world's top donors but still leaves him just shy of the most charitable billionaires on earth. Gross's self-disclosed giving represented about a quarter of his $2.7 billion fortune on the day he made the announcement, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The figure is "staggering, even to me," Gross told Bloomberg Television. That leaves Gross with a net worth of $2 billion, according to the index.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the world's two richest people and founders of the Giving Pledge, lead the top donors in dollar terms. The Microsoft co-founder gave $28 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which represents about one-third of his $86.5 billion fortune, according to the index. Buffett has given stock to Gates's foundation that would be valued at $38.5 billion today, more than half of his $71.2 billion net worth. Hedge fund manager George Soros has given at least $11 billion to charity, about 40 percent of his current $28.8 billion fortune.