Who are Nancy and Rich Kinder? From net worth to big ventures — all about the couple who pledged 95% fortune to charity

Houston billionaires Nancy and Rich Kinder have been in the spotlight for announcing that they are donating most of their money to charity. The couple pledged to donate 95 percent of their wealth to local causes such as parks, education and the arts

Nancy and Rich Kinder, co-founder and executive chairman of Kinder Morgan, one of North America’s largest energy infrastructure companies, confirmed in an interview with ABC13 Houston’s Melanie Lawson that they have decided to donate nearly all of their multibillion-dollar fortune, nearly $10 billion, to improving the well-being of the city that made them who they are. Notably, Kinder Morgan is the largest independent terminal operator in North America.

Rich Kinder, who argues that one’s goal should always be to leave the world “a little better” than he found it, says: “The wealth you accumulate is actually the result of many people helping you on this path.”

The Kinders have contributed to various charitable causes in the past, including Rice University, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Texas Children’s Hospital and The Giving Pledge, which was launched in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett.

During a ceremony for the $18.5 million expansion of Emancipation Park in Houston’s Third District, the couple unveiled their groundbreaking philanthropic plan.

Net worth of Nancy and Rich Kinder

Nancy and Rich Kinder have an estimated net worth of $11.2 billion, according to the Houston Chronicle. Meanwhile, Forbes magazine’s real-time net worth tracker estimates the net worth of one of the richest couples in the country to be around $11.3 billion.

What is the Kinder Foundation?

Founded in 1997 by Rich and Nancy Kinder, the organization’s main priorities are “to provide major gifts to public causes to help people live healthy and fulfilling lives,” its website states.

This foundation focuses primarily on projects and programs that increase urban green space, education, and quality of life in the Houston area and directs its funds to achieve these goals. As president of the foundation, Rich Kinder played a key role in establishing the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Kinder Institute for Constitutional Democracy, Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, and the Kinder Children’s Cancer Center, among many other institutions dedicated to helping the city that brought them to this point.