 Two of the world’s richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, credit Feeney as a major inspiration for both the $30 billion-strong Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Giving Pledge, which has enlisted more than 90 of the world’s richest to (eventually) grant half their wealth to charity.The firm was initially led by CEO Edwin Cohen, previously a partner of McKinsey & Company.Cohen was joined by Steven A. Denning, also from McKinsey & Company, as a founding member of the firm.