21 Americans donated more than $100M each in 2006
21 Americans donated more than $100M each in 2006
mongabay.com
February 27, 2007
Elite-level philanthropy hit record in 2006, with 21 individual donations exceeding $100 million in the United States, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which compiles a yearly list of the most generous givers. In total the 21 donors pledged some $48.5 billion to charitable causes.
Leading the way was Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett who pledged to give away stock worth $43.5 billion to several groups, including more than $30 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2006 Buffet paid out $1.9 billion of his pledge.
Following Buffet were Herbert M. and Marion O. Sandler who gave away $1.3 billion of their fortune earned from finance and investments, Bernard A. and Barbro Osher ($723.2 million), Jim Joseph ($500-million bequest), and Hector Guy and Doris Di Stefano ($264-million bequest). New York mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was number 8 on the list with $165-million in donations (number 9 if you look at the amount pledged but not paid out in 2006).
The number large donations reflects both the rapidly rising wealth among the richest Americans — there are now 371 billionaires in the U.S. — and the current trend for highly visible giving. In recent years, generous donations from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have helped spawn greater interest in high-level charitable giving, reaching the point where “venture philanthorpy” and “social entrepreneurship” panels are seeing standing-room only crowds in places like Silicon Valley. Publicly-traded Google Inc. has pledged millions of dollars towards charitable efforts through its Google.org program.
Encouragement has also come from the halls of academia: Jeffrey Sachs, a prominent American economist who is director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, has suggested that a tax on the upper echelon of rich Americans could end extreme global poverty.
21 who pledged $100 in 2006 (source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
| Rank | Donors | Amount pledged | Amount paid |
| 1 | Warren E. Buffett | $43,500.00 | $1.9-billion |
| 2 | Herbert M. and Marion O. Sandler | $1,300.00 | $1.3-billion |
| 3 | Bernard A. and Barbro Osher | $723.20 | $723.2-million |
| 4 | Jim Joseph | $500 | $500-million |
| 5 | Hector Guy and Doris Di Stefano | $264 | $264-million |
| 6 | David Rockefeller | $252 | $9.5-million |
| 7 | Mary Joan Palevsky | $212.80 | $212.8-million |
| 8 | T. Boone Pickens | $171.50 | $171.5-million |
| 9 | Michael R. Bloomberg | $165 | $165-million |
| 10 | Lorry I. Lokey | $163 | $163-million |
| 11 | Robert W. Wilson | $147.20 | $14.8-million |
| 12 | Arthur Zankel | $141 | $141-million |
| 13 | Eli and Edythe L. Broad | $137.60 | $137.6-million |
| 14 | Dan L. Duncan family | $115 | n/a |
| 15 | Joseph Neubauer | $114.60 | $114.6-million |
| 16 | Philip H. Knight | $105 | n/a |
| 17 | Ronald P. Stanton | $100 | $25,000 |
| 18 | John Arrillaga | $100 | $100-million |
| 18 | Lawrence J. Ellison | $100 | $5-million |
| 18 | Henry M. and Wendy J. Paulson | $100 | $100-million |
| 18 | Mortimer B. Zuckerman | $100 | n/a |
(source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
