Premji established his foundation in 2001 with the aim of furthering education as a way to help create a “more humane, equitable and ethical society for all our citizens,” he wrote in his commitment letter to The Giving Pledge, a site set up by U.S. billionaires to encourage rich people worldwide to give. In his early days helping grow the family business. ”I was deeply influenced by Gandhi's notion of holding one's wealth in trusteeship, to be used for the betterment of society and not as if one owned it.”