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Top 10 Most Generous Philanthropists of 2012

Top 10 Most Generous Philanthropists of 2012

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ThinkStockPhotos
ThinkStockPhotos

Although the recession decreased charitable donations worldwide, there are those who stepped their giving game up in 2012. These are most likely people who didn’t have to begin scrimping because of furloughs and government cutbacks, but their generosity is still remarkable. Whether it was to medical research, education, human rights, or the communities they grew up in, these donors made a tangible difference in 2012. The most important thing we can learn from them is that the more you donate, the more likely it is that you can name things after yourself.

*This list only includes living donors, not bequests from donors who have passed away.

Warren Buffet WENN.com
Warren Buffet
WENN.com

1. Warren Buffet ($3.1 billion)

It’s no surprise that Warren Buffet tops this list, as the billions he made from Berkshire Hathaway through the years earned him plenty to give away. He made a vow years ago to donate half his wealth during his lifetime, so there’s a solid chance he’ll be No. 1 in 2013 as well. But for 2012, his $3.1 billion went to his three children’s foundations – the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, focused on agricultural development and clean water projects; the NoVo Foundation, which improves the economic well-being and education of girls and women worldwide; and the Sherwood Foundation, supporting social justice and early childhood education. He also gave 10 shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock (valued at about $12,000 apiece) to 15 elementary school students who won his “Grow Your Own Business Challenge.” Guess it pays better than a paper route.

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Facebook Wikipedia.org
Mark Zuckerberg
Wikipedia.org

2. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan ($498.8 million)

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, made the announcement that they would join Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge to donate half their wealth in their lifetimes, and began in earnest in 2012 (is there like a button for this?) They gave 18 million shares of Facebook stock, valued at $498.8 million, to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which provides grants to low-income families for housing, teacher training programs, and after-school and summer math training programs. Given that Zuckerberg and Chan are both in their 20s, they have plenty of years ahead to snag the top spot.

John and Laura Arnold Philanthropy.com
John and Laura Arnold
Philanthropy.com

3. John and Laura Arnold ($423.4 million)

A unique year in terms of giving, 2012 saw John and Laura Arnold make up one of three couples on this list under age 40 (normally, you expect the top 10 to be old guys with white hair). Hedge-fund founder John and former corporate lawyer Laura gave more than $250 million to their own charity, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, established in 2008 to support nonprofits and community groups working for criminal justice, K-12 public education, and pension systems. They also gave some dough to groups to expand charter schools in New Orleans, the Nutrition Science Initiative for obesity research, and the Giving Library, a website created by the Foundation to help donors pick the right charity.

Paul Allen TheRichest.org
Paul Allen
TheRichest.org

4. Paul Allen ($309.1 million)

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen pledged $300 million to the Allen Institute for Brain Science to examine how the brain works and the causes of neurological disorders. Additionally, he gave $1.1 million to the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Ambassadors for Humanity, the Motion Picture & Television Fund Foundation, and the Robin Hood Relief Fund, as well as $8 million to the EMP Museum (which he also founded but decided he had already named enough things after himself).

Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki PCMag.com
Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki
PCMag.com

5. Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki ($222.9 million)

Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki constituted the last power couple under age 40. They donated a large portion of the wealth they amassed from Brin’s co-founding of a little-known company named Google. In the theme of keeping it in the family, they donated $190 million to their Brin Wojcicki Foundation, which supports causes varying from education reform, environmental advocacy, women’s issues, human rights, and poverty elimination. They also made a hefty donation to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, as Brin has a history of family experience with the disease – he has publicly announced that he carries the gene that gives him a 50% chance of developing Parkinson’s later on in life. Brin played an integral role in developing the Google Global Impact grant initiative, which gave $23 million to research and innovation in 2012 alone.

Mortimer Zuckerman TheRealDeal
Mortimer Zuckerman
TheRealDeal

6. Mortimer Zuckerman ($200 million)

Not to be confused with Zuckerberg, Mortimer Zuckerman is chairman and editor-in-chief of U.S. News and World Report, publisher of the New York Daily News, and co-founder of real estate firm Boston Properties. In 2012, he pledged $200 million to Columbia University to endow the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute for neuroscience research, but funnily enough, is not an alumni. He actually received a B.A. degree from McGill, an M.B.A from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School. Guess he wanted to keep mixing it up?

Carl Icahn TopNews
Carl Icahn
TopNews

7. Carl Icahn ($150 million)

Carl Icahn, majority shareholder of diversified holding company Icahn Enterprises, stepped it up by donating $150 million to the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he has been a member of the board of trustees since 2000. In previous years, he contributed to a variety of education-related causes. He established and supports six Icahn charter schools, but focused just on medicine in 2012. He has said in interviews that his philanthropy stems from the desire to close the gap between the very wealthy and those who haven’t been afforded the same opportunities. He see the need most urgently in the fields of medicine and education.

Sheldon and Miriam Adelson Judy Eddy / WENN
Sheldon and Miriam Adelson
Judy Eddy / WENN

8. Sheldon and Miriam Adelson ($143 million)

Las Vegas high roller Sheldon Adelson (seriously, he controls half the Strip – he owns the Venetian, is chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and developed a host of other resorts) and his wife, Miriam, also looked to medical causes in 2012. They donated $67 million to the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation for ovarian cancer, melanoma, and neuro-rehabilitation and repair research, as well as to the Adelson Family Foundation for Jewish causes. They also continued their support of the Birthright Israel Foundation with a $33 million gift, a program that organizes educational trips to Israel for young Jewish people. There were several other organizations that received Adelson cash in 2012, but note that this does not include the $100 million he spent in an effort to defeat President Barack Obama in the election.

David Koch Rob Rich/WENN.com
David Koch
Rob Rich/WENN.com

9. David Koch ($137 million)

David Koch, of Koch Industries and the politically influential Koch brothers, turned to the museum sector to donate his wealth. Between $65 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a redesign of its outdoor plaza, $35 million to the National Museum of Natural History for a new dinosaur exhibit hall, and $1 million to the New York City Opera, Koch made sure that museum-goers in New York would have something to look forward to in 2013. The dinosaur exhibit sounds pretty sweet. He also committed $10 million to establish the David H. and Julia Koch Research Program in Food Allergy Therapeutics and $20 million to build Technology Children’s Centers at MIT, his alma mater, and several smaller donations (read: still more than we’ll ever see in a lifetime) to the Allen-Stevenson Elementary School, as well as to Columbia University for its nephrology division – to save you the Google search, nephrology is all things kidney-related.

Philip Knight TheRichest.org
Philip Knight
TheRichest.org

10. Philip and Penelope Knight ($125 million)

Native Oregonian and Nike co-founder and chairman Philip Knight returned to his roots with a $125 million donation to the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation to establish the Knight Cardiovascular Institute. This is in the aftermath of a falling out and reconciliation between Knight and the University of Oregon when students pressured the administration to sign a contract with the Worker Rights Consortium, which prominently protested Nike’s labor practices. Apparently the Knights forgave the university in 2008 when they began pledging money again for a cancer institute, and they have gotten along swimmingly ever since.