It’s getting harder to climb the economic ladder in America. So five #billionaires, who have all risen to great heights from different starting points, have banded together in an attempt to reverse the trend and to restore belief in the idea of the U.S. as a land of equal opportunity. On Thursday, the #charitable foundations of billionaires #BillGates (net worth: $116.9 billion), #CharlesKoch ($67.5 billion), #SteveBallmer ($142.5 billion), Intuit founder #ScottCook ($7.7 billion) and hedge fund investor #JohnOverdeck ($7.4 billion) announced a more than $1 billion pledge to fund a new philanthropic vehicle focused on economic mobility called NextLadder Ventures. That entity will partner with artificial intelligence giant Anthropic and will support organizations focused on using #AI and other emerging technologies to improve the financial trajectory of low-income Americans. Read more at the link in our bio. (Photo: JC Olivera/WireImage via Getty Images)