Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the world?s most popular social media site, Facebook, recently announced he?ll give away $45 billion of his company shares during his lifetime. With the holidays just round the corner, that got me thinking ? who are the most charitable billionaires in the world? Here are 11 of them.
Net Worth: $48.6 billion
Philanthropy Value to Date: Circa $500 million
Larry Ellison is the world?s fifth-richest man. He founded Software Development Laboratories, the company that would become Oracle Corporation, in 1977. In addition to the $500 million he has donated to date, he has pledged to give away 95% of his wealth in the future.
Net Worth: $40.9 billion
Philanthropy Value to Date: $3.3 billion
Once a stock trader, Michael Bloomberg became wealthy after setting up his own company, Bloomberg L.P. He was New York Mayor between 2002 and 2013. His favorite charitable cause is his alma mater, John Hopkins University, however, he has given away billions through Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Net Worth: $4 billion
Philanthropy Pledged: $4 billion
Manoj Bhargava was born in India, but moved to the United States with his family in the early 1990s. He is the creator of 5-Hour Energy, an energy drink brand. He has pledged to give away 99% of his $4 billion fortune.
Net Worth: $6 billion
Philanthropy Value to Date: $5 billion
Intel is a name synonymous with computers ? the corporation has practically cornered the world market for microprocessors. Its co-founder, Gordon Moore, has given away over $5 billion of his fortune to charity to date.
Net Worth: $2.1 Billion
Philanthropy Value to Date: $5.5 billion
Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi is the co-founder of one of Saudi Arabia?s biggest banks. He has already given away nearly three-quarters of his wealth to anti-hunger and education initiatives in his native country.
Net worth: $1.5 million
Philanthropy Value to Date: $6 billion
Chuck Feeney became a billionaire after building a global duty-free store empire. Over $6 billion of his fortune has gone to charitable initiatives supporting education, research, health and civil rights through his foundation, The Atlantic Initiatives.
Net Worth: $15.9 billion
Philanthropy Value to Date: $8 billion
Azim Premji is an Indian IT entrepreneur. He donated over $8 billion to philanthropic initiatives to date. His foundation, the Azim Premji Foundation, is primarily concerned with causes related to universal education and advocacy in his home country.
Net Worth: $24 billion
Philanthropy Value to Date: $11 billion
Billionaire investor George Soros is renowned for his charitable work. He has been involved with numerous charitable organizations and initiatives during his lifetime, however he currently chairs the Open Society Foundations, which is a pro-democracy charity.
Net Worth: $48.6 billion
Philanthropy Value to Date: Circa $25.5 billion
Warren Buffett is the world?s most successful financial investor who has been ranked as the world?s richest man in the past. Aside from his business success, he is well-known for giving away billions of dollars to charity in lump sums, with the last giveaway being worth $2.8 billion.
Net Worth: $79.2 billion
Philanthropy Value to Date: $28 billion
The world?s richest man is also its biggest philanthropist. Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, have given away no less than $28 billion through their foundation to initiatives aimed at improving health, education and economic development in developing countries.
Net Worth: $35.7 billion
Philanthropy Pledged: $45 billion
The founder of the world?s most popular social media site, and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced recently that they would create a limited liability company to give away $45 billion in Facebook shares to personalized learning initiatives, curing disease and building strong communities
