America's Top 5 Most Philanthropic Billionaires
Altogether, the lifetime giving of America's top 25 philanthropists through December 30, 2023 rose to nearly $211 billion, up about 7% from last year’s total, Forbes found. New giving just in 2023 by the members of this year’s list totaled nearly $25 billion.
But that increase in charitable giving pales in comparison to the rise in their fortunes in the past year. The 25 biggest givers are together now worth an estimated $1.35 trillion–up an astonishing 44% more than a year ago, largely thanks to a dramatic rise in U.S. stocks.
Warren Buffett tops our list as the biggest giver for the fourth year in a row, with $56.7 billion in lifetime giving. The 93-year-old CEO of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway–who also gave away the most in 2023–is on a mission to make sure that he doesn’t leave his heirs a fortune.
Our estimates factor in the total lifetime giving of Americans through the end of 2023, measured in dollars given to charitable recipients; we are not including money parked in a foundation that has yet to do any good. To that end, we also do not include gifts that have been pledged but not yet paid out, or money given to donor-advised funds—opaque, tax-advantaged accounts that have neither disclosure nor distribution requirements—unless the giver shared details about the grants that were actually paid out by such entities. For giving as a percent of net worth, we add lifetime giving to net worth and then divide lifetime giving into that total. This is a list of individuals and couples who are U.S. citizens; as a result, we exclude extended families like the Waltons, controlling shareholders of Walmart, and big givers like Hansjoerg Wyss, who lives in the U.S. but is a Swiss citizen. We also don’t list deceased individuals. Net worths are as of February 9, 2024.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswealthteam/2024/02/15/americas-top-givers-2024-the-25-most-philanthropic-billionaires/?sh=76d5f7196714
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
But that increase in charitable giving pales in comparison to the rise in their fortunes in the past year. The 25 biggest givers are together now worth an estimated $1.35 trillion–up an astonishing 44% more than a year ago, largely thanks to a dramatic rise in U.S. stocks.
Warren Buffett tops our list as the biggest giver for the fourth year in a row, with $56.7 billion in lifetime giving. The 93-year-old CEO of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway–who also gave away the most in 2023–is on a mission to make sure that he doesn’t leave his heirs a fortune.
Our estimates factor in the total lifetime giving of Americans through the end of 2023, measured in dollars given to charitable recipients; we are not including money parked in a foundation that has yet to do any good. To that end, we also do not include gifts that have been pledged but not yet paid out, or money given to donor-advised funds—opaque, tax-advantaged accounts that have neither disclosure nor distribution requirements—unless the giver shared details about the grants that were actually paid out by such entities. For giving as a percent of net worth, we add lifetime giving to net worth and then divide lifetime giving into that total. This is a list of individuals and couples who are U.S. citizens; as a result, we exclude extended families like the Waltons, controlling shareholders of Walmart, and big givers like Hansjoerg Wyss, who lives in the U.S. but is a Swiss citizen. We also don’t list deceased individuals. Net worths are as of February 9, 2024.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeswealthteam/2024/02/15/americas-top-givers-2024-the-25-most-philanthropic-billionaires/?sh=76d5f7196714
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Transcript
00:00 America's 25 biggest philanthropists doled out billions of dollars in grants to a wide
00:05 range of causes last year, from medical and scientific research to environmental sustainability
00:11 to legal services for low-income Americans.
00:14 And ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November this year, several of these philanthropists
00:19 focused their giving on groups that strengthen democracy.
00:22 Altogether, the lifetime giving of these 25 philanthropists through December 30, 2023,
00:28 rose to nearly $211 billion, up about 7 percent from last year's total Forbes found.
00:34 New giving just in 2023 by the members of this year's list totaled nearly $25 billion.
00:41 Here are America's top five philanthropists.
00:45 Number five, Mackenzie Scott.
00:48 Scott gave $2.15 billion in 2023 to a total of 360 groups in 35 U.S. states and countries
00:56 like Brazil and India.
00:58 This includes donations to CAMFED, a Pan-African group supporting girls' education and women's
01:03 leadership; Just the Pill, a U.K. group that delivers abortion pills by mail; and legal
01:08 aid groups in Oklahoma, West Virginia, and four other U.S. locations offering legal services
01:14 to low-income residents.
01:15 Scott, who was previously married to Jeff Bezos and received a 4 percent stake in Amazon
01:20 in their 2019 divorce, does not have a traditional charitable foundation, but instead does at
01:26 least some of her charitable giving via donor-advised funds.
01:30 Number four, Michael Bloomberg.
01:32 The 82-year-old founder of financial data and media company Bloomberg LP doled out $3
01:37 billion in 2023, nearly $1.3 billion more than he'd given away in 2022.
01:44 He committed $500 million over several years to Beyond Carbon, a philanthropic effort to
01:50 fight the climate crisis, following a $500 million commitment he made in 2019 when he
01:55 launched the effort.
01:57 He also pledged $420 million over four years to an initiative to reduce tobacco use in
02:02 110 countries, including China and India.
02:06 Last year, Mike Bloomberg said he would donate his stake in his company, Bloomberg LP, to
02:10 Bloomberg Philanthropies when he dies, if not sooner.
02:14 Following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, Bloomberg donated $44 million to Megan David
02:20 Odom, the Israeli Red Cross.
02:23 Number three, George Soros.
02:25 Over the course of three decades, hedge fund founder George Soros, now 93, put $32 billion
02:32 of his fortune into Open Society Foundations.
02:35 It funds groups that promote democracy, transparency, and freedom of speech, and is active in some
02:40 120 countries.
02:42 Open Society Foundation encompasses a number of funding entities.
02:45 In the U.S., its Open Society Institute is a registered charitable foundation that has
02:50 $4.5 billion in net assets.
02:53 Soros' now 38-year-old son, Alex, was quietly elected chair of Open Society Foundations
02:58 in December 2022.
03:00 The news became public in June 2023.
03:04 Number two, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates.
03:08 Bill and Melinda continued to co-chair the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, despite
03:12 their 2021 divorce.
03:14 Forbes counts the former couple's donations as a combined number.
03:18 Their foundation, which, among other things, works to vaccinate children in poor countries,
03:22 has been increasing its annual budget.
03:24 Its goal is $9 billion in annual distributions by 2026.
03:30 Number one, Warren Buffett.
03:32 Warren Buffett tops our list as the biggest giver for the fourth year in a row, with $56.7
03:38 billion in lifetime giving.
03:40 The 93-year-old CEO of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, who also gave away the most in 2023,
03:46 is on a mission to make sure that he doesn't leave his heirs a fortune.
03:49 "My children, along with their father, have a common belief that dynastic wealth, though
03:54 both legal and common in much of the world, including the United States, is not desirable,"
03:59 Buffett wrote in a statement he issued in November to accompany a gift of Berkshire
04:02 shares to four family charitable foundations.
04:05 Still, he's only donated 30% of his fortune, in part because the value of his Berkshire
04:10 Hathaway stock keeps rising.
04:12 [MUSIC]
04:14 [BLANK_AUDIO]