Miami Dolphins owner pledges to give away $2 billion

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MIAMI, May 8 (UPI) -- Miami Dolphins owner Steve Ross has pledged to give half his fortune of $4.4 billion to charity.

He is now one of nine new members to join an initiative aimed at inspiring philanthropy and increasing charitable giving, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Tuesday.

The initiative, called the Giving Pledge, is a long-term effort created by billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates.

"Although I have generally conducted my philanthropic efforts privately, I hope through publicly committing to the Giving Pledge that I will inspire others to commit to significant philanthropy," Ross said in a statement.

Ross invested nearly $185 million in the Dolphins during the off-season by signing free agents and rookies.

He had volunteered to put up $5 million of his own money to fund a local referendum for voters to weigh in on spending $379 million in state and local taxes on upgrades to Dolphin Stadium the team wants.

However, the Florida Legislature last week decided not to use any public funds to gussy up the stadium.