Bengaluru : IT Czar Azim Premji has given away almost half of his stake in Wipro, India’s third largest exporter of software services, to charity.
The billionaire founder has just given away 18 per cent of his stake in the company to philanthropy; thus far he has contributed 39 per cent of his stake (worth Rs 53,284 crore) to the charitable trust.
The latest initiative by Premji would pump in an additional Rs 530 crore by way of dividends into the Trust’s corpus this year.
69-year old Premji is the first Indian to sign the Giving Pledge, which is sponsored by billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. The pledge invites the wealthiest to donate majority of their wealth to charity.
“Over the past 15 years, I have tried to put this belief into action through my personal philanthropic work…,” Premji said in a letter to shareholders published in the company’s annual report for the year ended March 2015. Premji also stated in the report that economic value is sustainable only if created on a foundation of ethics and responsibility.