Who are the Greatest Philanthropists of Our Time?

Thursday, November 30, 2017

We’re living in a world full of opportunities for some people, but full of problems for others. It may be a pure perspective of certain people, but when you look around yourself and notice we’re living in a world full of global problems like climate change, pollution, hunger, poverty and similar. According to the statistics and various researches, around 11 percent of the population is living on less than $2 per day. Can you imagine that number? One cup of your morning coffee costs more than 11 percent of populations’ daily budget.

Philanthropy became a very popular thing in the last decade, and it’s becoming more and more practiced among influential people. It’s more than a purely charitable donation as people who are philanthropists have one goal in mind – make the world a better place for living to people who don’t have the essential things. Many influential people established organizations that are investing money in philanthropist efforts around the world.

In this article, we will introduce you to the most influential philanthropists and their positive impact on the quality of living of people.

#1 Bill and Melinda Gates

Bill and Melinda Gates

This couple is working very hard to make the world a better place. The estimated worth of Bill Gates is around $80 billion, and his primary source of income is a renowned company called Microsoft.

This couple is one of the leading philanthropists, and they created a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that helps in fighting world problems like hunger, health, and education in third-world countries. Combined, they gave away around $30 billion to help people in need around the world.

#2 Warren Buffett

Warren Buffet

According to some lists, Warren Buffett is the second richest man on the earth weighing around $80 billion. The fascinating thing is that he announced to give away 99% of his wealth to philanthropic causes promoting education, health and community services around the globe.

He’s working very close to Bill Gates, and they created a charity company called Giving Pledge that is focusing on raising funds from the wealthiest people in the world to make better living conditions for people who need it. The interesting thing is that only 1% of his wealth will go to their children, but when you do the calculation, that’s a pretty good sum of money.

#3 George Soros

George Soros

George Soros is another philanthropist on our list that made a huge impact on the world, especially in promoting democracy around the world. The main source of his income is his company called Soros Fund Management that makes a change in different fields like health, education, and development of third-world countries.

His philanthropist activities support different organizations and individuals who are sharing the same values and vision in giving activities. He already gave around 50% of his entire wealth to philanthropic causes.

#4 Gordon and Betty Moore

Gordon Moore

Moore couple made his wealth from technology mogul Intel. Their combined net worth is estimated around $8 billion, and they started a nonprofit company called Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation which is one of the largest foundations in that field in the USAinfo-icon.

The main problems the foundation is focusing on are environmental sustainability, health, and technology innovation. The foundation is located in San Francisco, and the majority of the funds go into the city to promote the lives of the local community. The foundation is currently worth around $7 billion, so the legacy will continue when he’s gone.

#5 Paul Tudor Jones

Paul Tudor Jones

The owner and founder of Robin Hood Foundation, a philanthropic organization that is helping in a fight with poverty and education in New York City. His organization is doing a great job regarding education as they are focusing on putting as many high school students to colleges.

That’s a perfect way to move young people from the streets and reduce poverty. Right now, his work only revolves around his local community as he noticed so many problems in NYC that need to be solved. The main focus is to help young people get their degree and find jobs in the industry.

#6 Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg

The famous founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg deserves to be on the list of greatest Philanthropists. Did you know that he is one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the world? It’s a fantastic fact that his net worth is around $50 billion, but he already donated around $2 billion to support many projects and help in solving worlds’ problems.

He even promised to give away at least half of his lifetime wealth to the Giving Pledge. Zuckerberg and his wife are well-known for its donations and helping communities that really struggle. Last year they donated a whopping $25 million to help to fight a nasty Ebola in Africainfo-icon.

The surprising fact is that Zuckerberg knows the importance of quality education, so he is actively donating to schools around the country. For instance, he gave about $120 million to improve schools in the Bay Area and also, $100 million to improve the schooling system in New Jersey.

#7 Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey

There are probably not so many people who never heard of Oprah Winfrey. This self-made woman has an awe-inspiring and inspirational life story. She grew up in poor parts of Mississippi and was abused sexually through the years, but still, she managed to become extremely successful while helping other people to overcome the obstacles and win in life. Such a motivational story!

Oprah founded an organization called Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation where she donated around $140 million to support different projects include improving the schooling system around the country, fighting against sexual and family abuse, empowering woman, and many more.

Such an inspirational woman!

#8 J.K. Rowling

J.K. Rowling

There is a massive possibility that once in your life you stumbled upon a Harry Potter book or movie and got hooked entirely to that amazing world. Harry Potter is a creation of inspiring woman J.K. Rowling. She is one of the most successful authors in recent years who made her name to the billionaire list.

The most amazing fact - she is not a billionaire anymore since she donated a considerable portion of her wealth to charities and different projects!

She even started a famous foundation called Lumos, as the popular spell in the Harry Potter series, that is focusing on children who were separated from their families. The foundations’ mission is revolving around supporting the education and well-being of the children around the world.

#9 Azim Premji

Azim Premji

Azim Premji is an imposing person who comes from Indiainfo-icon. Even if you’re not knowledgeable about the problems and challenges India and its people facing daily, this gentleman started the organization named by his name to reform the school system in India.

Mr. Premji is a common and essential figure when we’re talking about India and he is an active chairman of Wipro company. His foundation called Azim Premji Foundation mainly focuses on schooling system in India providing computer-aided learning program. It’s a fantastic way to improve the educational system and provide kids and young people with the skills that match the market demand.

His foundation provides a computer training available in 18 languages, but that’s not all - his foundation even started a non-profit university!

#10 Carlos Slim

Carlos Slim

Carlos Slim was once on the top of the worlds’ wealthiest people and he is still at the top which is amazing, but what amazes us more is his philanthropic cause.

He started a foundation called Carlos Slim Foundation where he invested more than $4 billion through the years. As he is from Mexicoinfo-icon, the organization mainly focuses the efforts to improve the quality of life of Mexican people in the country, but also outside the country.

Carlos Slim is very knowledgeable about climate change and environmental issues the world is facing right now, so he invested around $100 million in the World Wildlife Fund to help Mexican natural environment. Also, he didn’t forget his roots; thus he is actively helping Mexican people living in the USA to provide the stable internet to their homes.

#11 George Kaiser

Another interesting persona on the list is definitely George Kaiser, a chairman of BOK corporation and the founder of a foundation that was named as his name.

Through the years, he invested about $4 billion in improving the local communities around the US. His foundation mainly focuses on solving problems like education, health, social issues, and local community development. The amazing thing is that he funded and started the University of Tulsa that provides high-quality education to underprivileged people!

Wait, it’s not the end of the fantastic facts! George Kaiser joined the famous Giving Pledge in 2010., promising to donate at least half of his wealth to the charity.

#12 Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg is a very influential person that founded Bloomberg Media company along with Bloomberg Foundation that focuses on different aspects including health, education and raising the awareness of environmental problems.

During his career, he donated around $3 billion to different projects and his foundation. The most recent charity projects he’s actively involved in is called ‘What Works Cities’. The project collected about $42 million and the aim is to help and educate 100 cities to use the online information to support the better cause.

That is a truly amazing project that can literally change the world as the social media and internet is a compelling platform to interact not only with the individuals but the masses too!

#13 Ted Turner

Ted Turner

Ted Turner is a bit odd person to be on this list, but we must include this inspirational man here. He is known as the former chairman of Turner Broadcasting Systems and the vice chairman of the well-known company called AOL.

These days he started his own company that is called Turner Enterprises and as the name suggests, the company is a diversified holding. He also started his own foundation where he invests a majority of his wealth to help in solving problems related to the environment, wildlife and community.

He was one of the first biggest philanthropists as he donated a whopping $1 billion to UN Foundation in 1997!

#14 Michael Dell

Michael Dell

The impressive statistics when it comes to philanthropy is on the side of technological moguls. Michael Dell, the chairman of Dell Computers, started the charity foundation with his wife in 1999. The foundation is called Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and its main focuses include improving the education, developing small communities and building the bridges between the cultures.

The amazing fact is that his foundation donated $25 million to help in constructing the hospital in Austin, Texas.

#15 Paul Allen

Paul Allen

If you’re into technology, then you most likely heard for the co-founder of Microsoft - Paul Allen. He’s not only known by amazing achievements and changes he achieved with Microsoft but also, he started his own foundation to help people around the globe with his wealth.

The foundation is called the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and its primary focus is on promoting the health of people and helping to share the awareness of environmental problems we’re facing right now.


You have a list of the 15 most important philanthropists in the world who are making an enormous impact on making the world a better place of living. Everyone from that list is a billionaire who’s giving away more than half of the wealth to the people who need the funds. These all are influential people from different aspects of life who noticed the problems the world is facing today.

They are problem solvers who can’t live in the world filled with big problems like poverty, health issues, hunger, climate change and similar. They are the ones who’re taking things into their hands and improving the quality of life in general.

It could be a huge inspiration to you to start giving more to your local community. It doesn’t need to be in a material form like money. You can invest your time in promoting the quality of life in your community as a form of volunteering.

Antonio Gabric a freelance content writer for aSabbatical.com
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