AdIn a world increasingly shaped by inequality, environmental crises, and health challenges, a select group of billionaires are channeling their fortunes into something far maximum lasting impact for the good of society. A new era of global giving is being shaped by visionaries who view wealth not as an end, but as a means to uplift others. These billionaires philanthropists are not merely donating money. They are deploying capital strategically to reshape broken systems, empower underserved communities, and fund groundbreaking innovation that can outlast lifetimes.
As Warren Buffett once said, “If you’re in the luckiest 1% of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99%.” This ethos is echoed by peers like Chuck Feeney, who pioneered the “giving while living” movement and gave away nearly his entire fortune in silence. Major philanthropists often emphasize that their role is to take bold risks and tackle the toughest problems, including those too complex or uncertain for government or business, and using their capital as a catalyst for innovation, equity, and long-term change. The philanthropists on this list are taking those bold risks, and in doing so, redefining what it means to build a legacy that serves not self, but society.
American billionaires dominated the list, underscoring a strong culture of generosity and a deep commitment to giving back in the United States. Their philanthropic efforts reflect a uniquely American tradition of using personal wealth to drive social change, fund innovation, and invest in the future of communities both at home and around the world. Everyone on the list is American unless otherwise indicated below.
Here’s the Top 10 list, based on lifetime giving, impact, and global influence.
1. Warren Buffett
Lifetime Giving: $51+ billion
Focus: Global health, education, poverty alleviation
The Oracle of Omaha, with a net worth over $144 billion remains the North Star of modern philanthropy. With more than 99% of his wealth pledged to charitable causes, Buffett has turbocharged initiatives like global vaccine distribution, health infrastructure in the Global South, and educational equity across continents. His practical wisdom has inspired a new generation of “giving billionaires.” In 2010, Buffett co-founded the Giving Pledge, committing billionaires to donate the majority of their wealth during their lifetimes.
“Giving money away is easy. Doing it well is fiendishly difficult.” — Warren Buffett
The Oracle of Omaha has pledged more than 85% of his fortune to charitable causes, with a large portion going to the Gates Foundation and other family initiatives
2. Bill Gates & Melinda French Gates
Combined Lifetime Giving: $45+ billion
Focus: Global health, gender equity, education, family planning
Microsoft founder Bill Gates with a net worth over $117 billion has been a global leader in giving. Whether together or separately, Bill & Melinda Gates continue to influence global systems. Their efforts have nearly eradicated polio, boosted maternal health, and supported climate-resilient agriculture, and education. The Gates Foundation has supported international organizations including the GAVI Alliance, WHO, UNICEF, and The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Melinda’s focus on empowering women and girls, particularly in the Global South, has made her one of the most important voices in gender-focused philanthropy.
3. Azim Premji
Nationality: India
Lifetime Giving: $21+ billion
Focus: Public education and rural development
Widely hailed as the most generous man in India, Azim Premji built his fortune transforming a small family vegetable oil business into Wipro, one of India’s largest and most respected IT and consulting firms. With an estimated net worth of $25 billion at his peak, Premji has pledged more than half of it to philanthropy, becoming a global leader in charitable giving. Through the Azim Premji Foundation, he has supported over 350,000 schools across underserved regions of India, focusing on systemic, long-term reform in public education. His initiatives prioritize teacher training, equitable access, and curriculum development—foundations for lasting change. In 2010, he launched Azim Premji University, a nonprofit institution dedicated to developing leaders in education and public service. Premji’s approach to giving is deeply intentional—building institutions and empowering communities with the goal of creating a more just, educated, and inclusive society.
4. Michael Bloomberg
Lifetime Giving: $17+ billion
Focus: Climate change, public health, education, gun safety
With a net worth over $104 billion, Michael Bloomberg is the founder of financial data analytics leader Bloomberg LP and former mayor of New York City. He has leveraged both his platform and assets to champion a wide range of causes, from environment, the arts, government innovation, and education to public health. Through Bloomberg Philanthropies, he has funded anti-smoking initiatives, global road safety programs, arts and cultural institutions, and renewable energy projects. He has also supported the World Health Organization, Johns Hopkins University, and pandemic preparedness efforts. His foundation has invested heavily in ocean conservation, gun safety reforms, and initiatives like the “What Works Cities” program, which helps over 100 U.S. cities adopt data-driven governance and improve quality of life for their residents. In 2024 alone, Bloomberg Philanthropies invested $3.7 billion around the world, according to Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Bloomberg Philanthropies leads one of the most data-driven approaches in the giving world. His funding has powered clean energy transitions in more than 500 cities, backed global anti-smoking campaigns, and supported science-based gun reform in the U.S. His work is proof that data and dollars can reshape policy.
5. MacKenzie Scott
Lifetime Giving: $19+ billion
Focus: Unrestricted, trust-based giving
After securing billions in her divorce settlement from Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott is quietly rewriting the rules of philanthropy. Rejecting traditional bureaucracy, she gives large, no-strings-attached gifts to grassroots and community-led organizations—often within weeks of first contact. Her funding has empowered thousands of nonprofits, with a strong focus on racial justice, gender equality, and local impact.
She has given away over $19.25 billion to more than 2,400 organizations since 2019 through her Yield Giving initiative. Her approach is radically different—no applications, no reports, no restrictions. Instead, her team identifies organizations doing impactful, often overlooked work and awards them grants ranging from $1 million to $50 million. In 2025, she expanded her strategy to include investments in socially driven for-profit companies. A writer by background, Scott’s giving philosophy is rooted in generosity and humility, inspired by author Annie Dillard’s idea that “anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you.”
6. Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi
Nationality: Saudi Arabia
Lifetime Donations: $16 billion
Focus: education, healthcare, religion, and social development.
Sulaiman bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi, one of Saudi Arabia’s most influential businessmen, is also celebrated as one of the world’s most generous philanthropists. Co-founder of Al Rajhi Bank, the largest Islamic banking institution, Al Rajhi amassed a multibillion-dollar fortune through banking, agriculture, and real estate. In 2011, he made global headlines by transferring the majority of his wealth, estimated at over $16 billion into an endowment for charitable causes, making it one of the largest single acts of philanthropy in the Arab world. This act of philanthropy removed him from the list of billionaires.
His philanthropic work focuses heavily on education, health care, poverty alleviation, and Islamic scholarship. He established the Sulaiman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi Charitable Foundation to manage these donations. Additionally, he established Al Rajhi University, which offers programs in medicine, engineering, and Islamic finance. He also funded hundreds of mosques, schools, and hospitals across Saudi Arabia and beyond. He also supports programs that promote food security and sustainable agriculture. Al Rajhi’s approach is deeply rooted in Islamic principles of Zakat (charitable giving) and Waqf (endowment), and he has become a role model for modern Islamic philanthropy—demonstrating how wealth can be used to empower communities and advance social development on a national scale.
7. Charles Francis Feeney
Lifetime Donations: $8+ billion
Focus: Education, health, human rights, world peace
Charles “Chuck” Feeney was a pioneering philanthropist best known for giving away nearly his entire fortune, over $8 billion during his lifetime. A co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, Feeney quietly amassed wealth and then chose to live modestly. He often flied coach and rented apartments, while channeling his riches into causes he believed in through his foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies.
His donations focused on education, health, human rights, and peace building. He has supported universities like Cornell, public health initiatives in Vietnam and South Africa, and efforts to advance aging and dementia research. Feeney’s “Giving While Living” philosophy inspired the Giving Pledge movement, which encourages billionaires to give away their wealth in their lifetimes. By the time he shuttered his foundation in 2020, Feeney had retained just a small amount to support himself and his wife. He died in 2023 at age 92 and fulfilled his goal of “dying broke” and redefining what it means to give with purpose.
8. Gordon Moore
Lifetime Donations: $5 billion
Focus: health, environmental conservation scientific advancements
Tech entrepreneur Gordon Moore made his fortune as co-founder of semiconductor and computer chip component company Intel. Gordon Moore and his wife, Betty, donated over $5.1 billion to charitable causes through the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and personal philanthropy. This substantial giving focused on environmental conservation, scientific advancements, astronomical research and improvements in patient care. The foundation itself, established in 2000, has a significant endowment and budget. Also, it has funded numerous projects and initiatives in its focus areas.
9. Carlos Slim Helú
Nationality: Mexico
Lifetime Donations: $4 billion
Focus: health, education, disaster relief, job creation
Carlos Slim Helú is Mexico’s richest man with an estimated net worth of over $90 billion. He has quietly become one of Latin America’s most impactful philanthropists. Since founding Fundación Carlos Slim in 1986, he has donated over $4 billion to programs focused on health, education, disaster relief, and job creation. Signature efforts include the Mesoamerica Health Initiative, which has improved care for millions of women and children, and a free online job-training platform covering 200+ occupations. His Telmex Foundation also supports infrastructure development across Mexico. Though he rejects the Giving Pledge, Slim believes in solving poverty through employment and sustained effort, not passive giving. This is an ethos that defines both his business and philanthropic approach.
10. Eli Broad
Lifetime Donations: $4 billion
Focus: arts, education, science, healthcare research
Eli Broad was a self-made billionaire whose career spanned real estate, insurance, and finance. He first made his fortune by co-founding Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation (now KB Home) in the 1950s. He pioneered in affordable, mass-produced suburban housing in post-war America. Later, he expanded into the financial services industry by acquiring Sun Life Insurance. Eventually became Sun America, a retirement savings giant eventually sold to AIG for $18 billion in 1999. These ventures established Broad as one of the few people to build two Fortune 500 companies in entirely different industries.
A devoted philanthropist, Broad gave away more than $4 billion during his lifetime. He focused on education reform, scientific research, and the arts. He and his wife, Edythe, founded The Broad Foundation. They supported public school innovation and charter school expansion across the U.S. They also created the Broad Institute in partnership with MIT and Harvard, now a world-leading biomedical research center. In Los Angeles, the Broads were transformative figures in the arts, funding institutions like The Broad museum, MOCA and LACMA. Also, they helped to revitalize downtown LA’s cultural landscape. Broad believed in “venture philanthropy” by bringing the strategic, results-driven mindset of business into the nonprofit world to drive lasting change.
Other notable philanthropists include
- Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing, who initially made his his wealth in plastics before diversifying into ports & technology. He has donated almost $4 billion with a focus on health and education.
- George Kaiser, the Oklahoma based oil magnate whose lifetime donations exceed $3 billion and focuses on early childhood education, healthcare access and community revitalization
- Phil Knight the philanthropist who founded the sports brand Nike whose Knight Foundation, which he controls with his wife, Penelope, and son, Travis. The foundation has grown to over $5 billion in assets and has donated over $3 billion to charity. Major donations include a $1 billion gift to the University of Oregon for the Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. Also a $400 million pledge to Stanford’s Knight‑Hennessy Scholars program. Donations focus on higher education, university infrastructure (Oregon, Stanford).
- Mark Zuckerberg & Priscilla Chan whose lifetime giving is over $3 billion. Mark Zuckerberg, through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, has committed billions to education, science, and criminal justice reform, aiming to “cure, prevent, or manage all disease” by the end of this century.
- Yvon Chouinard (Founder of Patagonia) whose lifetime giving is over $1.5 billion He donated approximately 98% of his company (valued at around $3 billion) to environmental causes, ensuring that Patagonia’s post-reinvestment profits—estimated at $100 million per year—are directed to combat climate change and preserve biodiversity via the Holdfast Collective and Patagonia Purpose Trust
- Oprah Winfrey, a philanthropist who has donated $1.8 billion. She is committed to women’s education and empowerment through her leadership academy and global initiatives
- Reed Hastings, the Netflix co-founder who donated $1.1 billion in 2024 to higher education and medical scholarships
Redefining Legacy
This list proves that giving isn’t just about wealth. It is about will. Whether motivated by justice, science, education, or equity, these philanthropists are demonstrating that capital when coupled with vision can catalyze extraordinary change. Their generosity is not just measured in dollars, but in lives improved and systems transformed.
