Five of America’s top philanthropists have come together to launch a new initiative aimed at helping low-income Americans move out of poverty, with support from a major artificial intelligence company.
Economic mobility in the United States has become increasingly difficult. In response, five billionaires from different backgrounds have joined forces to counter this trend and renew confidence in the idea of America as a land of equal opportunity.
On Thursday, the charitable foundations of Bill Gates, Charles Koch, Steve Ballmer, Intuit founder Scott Cook and hedge fund investor John Overdeck announced a pledge of more than one billion dollars to create a new philanthropic organization focused on economic mobility called NextLadder Ventures. The organization will partner with AI company Anthropic and support groups using artificial intelligence and emerging technologies to improve the financial outcomes of low-income Americans.
Koch noted in his recent book that entire communities are falling apart and upward mobility is declining for millions of people, particularly those most in need. He highlighted rising suicide rates, increasing drug overdose deaths and the risk of the country becoming a divided society where fewer people advance and more are left behind.
Along with the four other cofounders, Koch hopes NextLadder Ventures can help change this trajectory.
Ryan Rippel, CEO of NextLadder Ventures, said the initiative is unique because it brings together individuals and organizations with long histories of investing in economic opportunity. He explained that over years of work, they all arrived at the same core question of how to better support individuals and families facing major barriers every day.
Rippel grew up in a single-parent household in central Missouri after his father died in a car accident in 1985. He later lost his mother to breast cancer and inherited significant medical debt due to inadequate insurance coverage.
His experience reflects a broader reality. More than one in ten Americans live below the poverty line, according to the US Census Bureau. In addition, over half of Americans lack economic security and are unable to save money after covering monthly expenses, according to the Urban Institute. Advances in AI and new technologies could help address these challenges.
Kevin Bromer of the Ballmer Group said the founders recognized a turning point in social impact and technology and believed working together would allow them to achieve more collectively than individually.
NextLadder Ventures plans to deploy its initial one billion dollar commitment over seven years through grants, equity investments and revenue-based financing to both nonprofit and for-profit organizations aligned with its mission. Any profits generated will be reinvested into its philanthropic work.
Although no funding commitments have been made yet, the founders have previously supported organizations that could align well with the new venture. These include CarePortal, a nonprofit platform connecting families in need with community support, and Rasa Legal, a for-profit startup that helps people clear criminal records at a fraction of typical costs.
Anthropic will provide AI computing resources and technical support at no cost to organizations funded by NextLadder Ventures, helping them develop and scale their solutions more quickly.
Over the next 15 years, NextLadder Ventures plans to bring in additional philanthropic partners and funding. The goal is to help build a scalable market of technologies that assist low-income Americans and service providers in overcoming challenges such as job loss, housing instability, childcare needs, health emergencies and criminal record expungement. As external funding grows, the organization expects its own required investment to decline, after which its board will reassess its future direction.
Regardless of the outcome, the five founders are expected to continue supporting economic mobility efforts through their individual foundations, as they have done for decades.
This philanthropy has already placed Gates, Ballmer and Koch among Forbes’ top 25 American philanthropists. Gates ranks second, Ballmer eighth and Koch twenty-fifth, based on lifetime giving that has reached final charitable recipients.
Bill Gates, together with Melinda French Gates, has donated an estimated 47.7 billion dollars, primarily through the Gates Foundation, to health and poverty-focused causes. The foundation’s 2024 report shows nearly 200 million dollars in grants awarded last year through US economic mobility and women’s economic empowerment programs.
Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie have donated approximately five billion dollars to organizations focused on economic mobility. Their recent commitments include major funding for Communities In Schools, StriveTogether and Blue Meridian Partners, which works to reduce poverty and expand opportunity.
Charles Koch has donated an estimated 1.9 billion dollars to nonprofits focused on education, poverty reduction and criminal justice reform, largely through his Stand Together network, which is also contributing to NextLadder Ventures.
Scott Cook and John Overdeck, while not yet among the top 25 philanthropists, have each donated close to 500 million dollars through their foundations.
The five philanthropists will continue their individual efforts while collaborating through NextLadder Ventures on economic mobility initiatives for at least the next 15 years. According to Brian Hooks of Stand Together, collaborations of this scale and duration are extremely rare and carry enormous potential.
