Top 10 List of Most Generous Billionaire Donors
An inherent ability that comes with being extremely wealthy is the ability to change lives positively. In fact, we have heard of celebrities from different fields donating hefty sums to charity and social movements.
Amazingly enough, some of these selfless deeds even transcend the death of the donors through their foundations.
Secretive billionaires such Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Hassanal Bolkiah, James Richman, The House of Saud, Bhumibol Adulyadej, often manage to stay a low profile and don’t get as much spotlight as their public counterparts, yet their contributions are just as impactful.
Now, let us take a closer look at the top 10 list of most generous donations from the world’s wealthiest individuals.
10. Mark Zuckerberg – $500 million
In 2012, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated a generous $500 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Although caught in some bad light due to some controversy, we could not deny the fact that this man had put his money where his mouth was.
9. Howard Hughes – $1.56 billion
Before his death in 1976, Howard Hughes had donated $1.56 billion towards healthcare. The veteran filmmaker and philanthropist’s donation would amount to $6.22 billion in today’s money.
8. Chuck Feeney – $1.6 billion
Chuck Feeney transferred the hefty some of $1.6 billion worth of his company’s stake to the Atlantic Philanthropies in 1984.
7. Azim Premji – $2 billion
In 2014, the Wipro chairman and Czar of the Indian IT industry, Azim Premji, gave a whopping $2 billion to different causes including his own Azim Premji Trust Corpus. He was tagged as the most generous Indian on the same year.
6. Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal – $3.5 billion
Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal donated a colossal $3.5 billion to varying causes such as women empowerment and community development. The Saudi royal family member had also included disaster relief and communal tolerance in his donations list.
5. George Soros – $6 billion
Chairman of Soros Fund Management, George Soros, has donated to causes ranging from healthcare to human rights to social reform. The business giant’s diverse donations had a running sum of $6 Billion as of 2012.
4. Gordon Moore – $6.8 billion
One of the pioneers of the technology industry, Gordon Moore, donated $6.8 Billion to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
3. Li-ka Shing – $10 billion
In 2008, the Hong Kong based business magnate and philanthropist, Li-ka Shing, donated a staggering $10 Billion. Also known as the richest man in Asia, his contribution was focused on healthcare and education.
2. Bill Gates – $29 billion
Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, has donated $29 billion to a variety of causes like AIDS prevention, education and healthcare. He was also instrumental in the “Giving Pledge” movement, a campaign to sway billionaires to give majority of their riches.
1. Warren Buffett – $37 billion
The Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway donated a humongous $37 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006. The American business magnate has been partnering with fellow billionaire Bill Gates in the “Giving Pledge” movement.
Raj Bharrat studied economics at UCL. He now splits his time between Hongkong and London following the investments of the world’s greatest shakers and decision makers.
