The Chronicle’s 20th annual ranking of America’s biggest donors was topped by Michael Bloomberg and followed by the hotel magnate Barron Hilton, then Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO, and his wife, Wendy. The top five on the list each gave more than $1 billion to charity last year. Philanthropy 50 donors gave away more than $15.8 billion in 2019. To mark our two decades of publishing, we also look back at the difference some of the biggest gifts of recent years have made on nonprofits and society.
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NewsFive donors contributed $1 billion or more, the first time in 20 years that so many people have given that much. -
Search or browse this year’s list of America’s biggest donors and all the past lists going back to 2000. You can sort by name, amount donated, source of wealth, location, and top cause.
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Individual GivingThe top 5 donors in 2019 gave over $1 billion each, and many wealthy Americans gave to fight climate change and inequality.
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Philanthropy 50Data from the Philanthropy 50, the Chronicle’s annual list of the people who give the most to charity, reveals lists of boldface names in the world of giving.
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Philanthropy 50Only 21 people on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans appear among this year’s Philanthropy 50 list.
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Philanthropy 50Find out more about America’s 50 biggest donors: their ages, sources of wealth, where they live, and where they give. And see the entire Philanthropy 50 report featuring our analysis of the list and giving trends among megadonors.
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Philanthropy 50Smith hopes his commitment will inspire a wave of giving — and he’s created a blueprint other donors can use to make similar gifts.
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NewsFrank Randall, a real-estate developer, and his wife, Joan, decided to give big to Banning Ranch Conservancy after the head of the all-volunteer group provided clear details about what the money would go.
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Individual GivingTed and Vada Stanley appeared on the Philanthropy 50 multiple times, but it is their $650 million donation in 2014 that is changing how scientists understand the genetics of mental illness and encouraging other donors to give to the cause.
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NewsJay Faison, a technology entrepreneur, put money into filling a void on the right, and his philanthropy is starting to gain traction in promoting clean-energy approaches.
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NewsCordelia Scaife May left $404 million that goes to nonprofits like the Federation for American Immigration Reform and NumbersUSA, which have had a significant influence on policies to limit the number of people who are allowed to claim legal residency in the United States.
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Individual GivingJohn Hollingworth left 45 percent of his estate to charities in Greenville, S.C., and that has developed a robust set of nonprofits and a model for how grant makers can best help organizations with advice, unrestricted aid, and more.
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Writer's NotebookTo mark the 20th anniversary of the Philanthropy 50 annual rankings of the donors who give the most, the Chronicle looked at how large donations from past lists have worked out.
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NewsInside the methodology for tallying which philanthropists gave away the most money in 2019.
