10 Biggest Philanthropists Of All Time (2024)

While most of history’s biggest givers are from the boom times of the recent era, not all of them are. It is possible that the greatest philanthropist of all time lies in the murky histories of Ming China or Malian West Africa, both of which were times renown for their wealth. Sure, we could try to trace back the threads of time to long past eras, find their richest individuals, and calculate their philanthropic contribution in modern currency. But, that would be exceedingly complicated. Better to stick with what we know for sure. That being the case, our 10 most generous individuals are all from fairly recent history.

Based on the total amount pledged or actually given, these are the top 10 biggest philanthropists of all time

10: Michael Bloomberg: $2.4 billion (Net Worth of $31 billion)

The former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg has donated $2.4 billion. He supported a wide range of education, technological, and healthcare efforts. By the way, Bloomberg made his money by offering Wall Street traders quick, and high-quality business information. His company, Bloomberg LP, later expanded into an international news agency with two business magazines, a radio station, a global television network, and a wire service.

Through Bloomberg Philanthropies, Bloomberg has donated $2.4 billion to replace coal as an energy source, fight tobacco and polio, streamline municipal governments throughout the US, and support the arts of New York City.

9: Eli and Edythe Broad $3.5 billion (Net Worth $6.9 billion)

The son of a house painter and dressmaker, Eli Broad has spent the last decade giving generously to scientific research, early education, and the arts of Los Angeles. By the way, Broad made his billions through successfully running two Fortune 500 companies. The first, a Detroit homebuilder called Kaufman and Broad. The other, SunAmerica, a billion-dollar retirement savings company Broad forged out of a century-old family insurance company.

Broad sold SunAmerica in 1999 for $18 billion. After that, Eli with his wife Edythe, turned his attention to philanthropy full time. The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has given $3.5 billion to support human genomics. Moreover, they supported stem cell research, urban public schools, and the museums and art collections of Los Angeles.

8: George Kaiser: $4 Billion (Net Worth $10 Billion)

One of the top 100 richest people in the world, George Kaiser inherited Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. from his uncle and parents in 1969. In 1990 he bought the Bank of Oklahoma. It put him on Forbes list of 400 wealthiest Americans.

7: Carlos Slim Helú: $4 Billion (Net Worth $74 billion)

From 2010 to 2013, Carlos Slim Helú was the richest person in the world. After that, Bill Gates topped him in 2013. Through his Fundación Carlos Slim Helú, the native of Mexico has given $4 billion to providing health care, digital education, access to improved nutrition, and disease prevention throughout Latin America. Moreover, in one case he paid for 50,000 cataract surgeries in Peru. Carlos Slim Helú has also sponsored the Museo Soumaya. It is a free admissions museum in Mexico City.

6: Chuck Feeney: $6.3 Billion (Net Worth $2 million)

Dubbed by Forbes “The Billionaire Who Is Trying To Go Broke”, Chuck Feeney has been trying to give away as much of his amassed $7.5 billion fortune as he can to worthy charitable causes since 1984. His foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies has donated 6.3 billion of Feeney’s fortune into global efforts for education, science, health care, aging, and civil rights. Best of all, Feeney has been doing it as quietly as he possibly can.

5: Gordon Moore: $6.8 Billion (Net Worth $4.6 billion)

Gordon Moore made his fortune as a co-founder and chairman of the Intel Corporation. He is famous as the author of ‘Moore’s Law’, which is typically called upon to explain the big steps in computing capability over the past several decades.

4: George Soros: $10 Billion (Net Worth $20 billion)

Soros was born in Hungary. He emigrated after WW2 to study at the London School of Economics. George served as a waiter and railway porter to survive. Soros excelled in the financial field, developing the economic theory of reflexivity, and becoming infamous as ‘The Man Who Broke the Bank of England’ during the 1992 UK currency crises.

He has long been a supporter of human rights and open democratic societies. During the 1970s, Soros funded both black students living under South African apartheid and dissidents behind the iron curtain. He is also credited with being instrumental in the transition from communism to capitalism in Hungary during the 1980s.

In 1993, Soros founded the Open Society Foundation. It is a public policy grant network. By the way, his foundation promotes social reform, human rights, and democracy. Among the billions Soros has donated, 1.7 billion has gone to human rights efforts. Moreover, another 1.6 billion has gone to education.

3: Warren Buffet: $25 Billion (Net Worth $58.7 billion)

Buffet is one of the world’s wealthiest people. Also, he is one of the most generous on the list of billionaire philanthropists.

2: Bill and Melinda Gates: $28 billion (Net Worth $74 billion)

Perhaps the most successful entrepreneur of the information age, Bill Gates amassed an immense fortune as the co-founder and chairman of Microsoft, holding the title of the world’s richest man multiple times, including in 2013. Since 1999, Gates has poured money into his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which, in alliance with the efforts of Warren Buffett, has become one of the world’s leading philanthropic foundations, primarily focusing on global healthcare, poverty, education, and increasing access to information technology.

1: Andrew Carnegie: (Estimated after adjustment $75-297.8 billion out of a total Net Worth of $298.3 billion)

Carnegie is one of history’s richest men. He died nearly a century ago. However, Carnegie is still the biggest philanthropist of all time. He amassed one of the largest fortunes ever seen through the burgeoning U.S. Steel industry ($298.3 billion in 2007 dollars according to Forbes).