biggest philanthropists of all time
20 Biggest Philanthropists of All Time
Philanthropy has been considered as a responsible and honorable practice for centuries now. A lot of famous people from all across the world are well-known for supporting some or the other cause and charity organization. This Buzzle article enlists some of the most generous philanthropists of all time.
Bill Gates (1955 ―)
Chairman and co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates has ranked among the richest people many times in the past two decades. Much of his wealth has been donated to different charities for global development. He is also the co-founder of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is the largest charitable foundation in the world, and has proved to be a blessing for the less fortunate. He is also the co-founder of The Giving Pledge along with Warren Buffet. He was recently honored with the Padma Bhushan, which is the third highest civilian honor award in India, for the organization's humanitarian activities in the country.Warren Buffet (1930 ―)
Warren Buffet is one of the most wealthiest and influential men in the world. He is known for his philanthropic activities as well. He is the co-founder of The Giving Pledge organization, that encouraged the wealthiest people in the world to come forward and donate to different causes. He is also a co-trustee in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and has pledged to give away a bulk of his fortune to it after his death.George Soros (1930 ―)
Also known as the 'man who broke the Bank of England', George Soros has been an active philanthropist since the 1970s. He is highly influential, and a giant in the world of philanthropy. He founded the Open Society Foundations, which promotes human rights and democracy in over 70 countries. He has donated over $8 billion to various causes in the past three decades, to improve the lives of the less privileged.Gordon Moore (1929 ―)
Gordon Moore is the co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of Intel Corporation. He also established the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in 2000 along with his wife Betty, which initially focused on environmental conservation, science, and the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2002, he received the Order of the Golden Ark for his contributions to conserve nature. He has also pledged to give at least half of their net worth to charitable organizations.Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919)
He was actively involved in philanthropic activities, and gave away about $350 million, which is almost 90% of his fortune, to different charities and foundations. The most noted among his philanthropic works is donating money to build around 2,500 libraries in different parts of the world.Eli Broad (1933 ―)
Eli Broad is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, who built two Fortune 500 companies. Eli and his wife Edythe, created The Broad Foundations, for improving education so that every child gets the opportunity to succeed in life. They have donated huge sums of money for building stem cell research institutes. They have also pledged to give away at least 75% of their wealth in charity after they became a member of The Giving Pledge.Ted Turner (1938 ―)
Ted Turner, the man behind CNN and Cartoon Network, is also a philanthropist. He created the Turner Foundation in 1990, which focuses on environment and population. In the same year, he was named the Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association. He pledged to donate $1 billion to United Nations causes, and created the United Nations Foundation. He donated $600 million in 2006 to different causes, and promised to use the remaining $400 million for additional funds and other causes and activities.Azim Premji (1945 ―)
This Indian business tycoon is also the chairman of Wipro Limited, and a philanthropist who has donated most of his wealth to charity. He founded the Azim Premji Foundation in 2001, whose main goal was to improve the quality of education, especially in rural areas. In December 2010, he pledged to donate $2 billion for the same. This has been the largest donation in India so far. He is also the first Indian to sign up for The Giving Pledge, and has already donated 25% of his wealth to charitable causes.Richard Branson (1950 ―)
Richard Branson is best known as the founder of the Virgin Group. He is also the recent billionaire to join The Giving Pledge, and has committed to give away half of his wealth to philanthropic causes. He has also donated to different charities for education in Africa.Mark Zuckerberg (1984 ―)
The co-founder of Facebook has emerged as a major philanthropist in recent times. His first major philanthropic donation was in 2010, of about $100 million for a public school in New Jersey. He also signed up as a member of The Giving Pledge in 2010, and commits to giving away half of his wealth. In December 2013, he donated 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, that totaled to about $990 million. It was the largest charitable amount in 2013. In October, Zuckerberg and his wife donated $25 million to help combat the ebola virus disease.