Brazil-based Nubank founder David Vélez and his wife, Mariel Reyes, have signed on to the Giving Pledge, committing to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.

Velez, the founder of the world's largest standalone digital bank, and Reyes, who worked at the World Bank's International Finance Corp. before founding {reprograma}, a nonprofit that trains underprivileged women in computer programming, said in their pledge letter that they had decided that "we should invest the majority of our wealth the same way we are investing the majority of our time — by helping to improve people's lives." That conclusion follows "a fairly rational and simple logic," the couple wrote: Life is finite, they can't wear two pairs of shoes at the same time, they want to enable their children to build their own path by developing themselves fully, and there is an urgent need to invest wealth now to help improve the lives of hundreds of millions of people. To that end, the couple plans to establish a family philanthropic platform focused on improving access to opportunity for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young adults in Latin America.

According to Bloomberg Quint, citing figures that are not public, Velez owns a stake worth about $6 billion in Nubank. "I'm hoping this is a nascent but growing trend in Latin America," Vélez told Bloomberg Quint. "I think older generations didn't really see this as a path; they were more focused on building dynasties and passing it to their kids, but I think that's changing with the younger generations."

In addition, biotech entrepreneur, investor, and Schuler Education Foundation founder Jack Schuler joined the Giving Pledge in May, saying in his pledge letter that his family agreed that he should give 100 percent of his wealth to the foundation. He also wrote that Bill Gates, who launched the Giving Pledge in 2010 with Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, had been instrumental in his decision to establish the foundation, which announced in April a ten-year, $500 million initiative aimed at increasing enrollment for undocumented and low-income students at the country's top liberal arts colleges.

(Photo credit: Giving Pledge)