Warren Buffett said Wednesday that 40 of the world’s wealthiest people have joined him and Bill and Melinda Gates in pledging to give away at least half of their personal fortunes to charity.
In a conference call with reporters, Buffett said he and the Gateses had called between 70 and 80 of the people listed on the Forbes list of the 400 wealthiest people in the world to make the appeal that they call the “Giving Pledge.”
“It was a very soft sell,” said Buffett, who in 2006...