2 Self-Made South Korean Billionaires To Give Away Half Their Wealth To The Less Fortunate

• Kakao Talk’s Kim Beom-su and Woowa Brothers’ Kim Bong-jin and his wife Bami Sul are pledging half of their assets to philanthropy.
• According to the self-made billionaires, they want to help “solve social issues.”
• For Kim Bong-jin, giving his wealth away is a dream come true because he grew up in poverty.

Two self-made billionaires from South Korea have recently announced that they are giving away half of their wealth. Kim Beom-su initially promised he will be donating over half of his US$9.6 billion assets. According to the founder of Kakao Talk, he is going to share his wealth for the purpose of helping “solve social issues.”

Soon thereafter, Woowa Brothers CEO and founder Kim Bong-jin and Bomi Sul, his wife, made history after becoming the first South Koreans to join the Giving Pledge, a group of philanthropists founded by Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffet. The initiative is committed to “giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes,” according to their official website.

Kim Beom-su of Kakao Talk, a popular mobile messaging app in South Korea.

In a statement, Kim of Woowa Brothers reflected about his humble beginnings. His parents used to run a small restaurant and he had to give up his dreams of going to art high school, opting for a cheaper vocational school.

Now that he and his wife has achieved success, they decided to share it with those who need it.

Kim Bong-jin and wife Bomi Sul. Kim is the founder of Woowa Brothers, a local delivery app operator.

Kim said in the statement:

“Ten years ago, when I was running a small company of less than 20 employees, I read an article about Bill Gates and Warren Buffett making the pledge and had a wild dream of one day making the pledge myself.

“It is very overwhelming that I am making such a pledge, today.”

The couple likewise added:

“We are certain that this pledge is the greatest inheritance that we could provide for our children.”

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