Michael Bloomberg Was the Top Philanthropist in the U.S. Last Year: 'I've Been Very Lucky'

Mar 05, 2025 05:14 AM - 1 week ago 13858

Michael Bloomberg, 83, topped the database of Americans who donated the astir money to nonprofits past year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy's Philanthropy 50 database for 2024. It was the 2nd twelvemonth successful a statement that Bloomberg led the list.

Bloomberg gave $3.7 cardinal to charitable causes successful 2024 successful support of the arts, education, nationalist wellness groups, and metropolis authorities betterment programs. He made his contributions straight and done his charitable statement Bloomberg Philanthropies.

One sizable aid Bloomberg made was a $1 cardinal grant to Johns Hopkins University successful July 2024 to screen the costs of aesculapian schoolhouse for students.

Related: MacKenzie Scott's Nearly $20 Billion successful Donations Has Had a 'Transformative Effect,' According to a New Study. Here's How.

"I've ne'er understood group who hold until they dice to springiness distant their wealth," Bloomberg told the Chronicle successful an email. "Why contradict yourself the satisfaction? I've been very lucky, and I'm wished to do what I tin to unfastened doors for others and to time off a amended world for my children and grandchildren."

Michael Bloomberg. Photographer: Lionel Ng/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Five different individual donors aliases couples joined Bloomberg successful giving distant $1 cardinal aliases much past year. They were: Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings and his woman Patty Quillin (second connected the list), Dell Technologies laminitis Michael Dell and his woman Susan Dell (third), Warren Buffett (fourth), Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his woman Priscilla Chan (fifth), and retired pediatrics professor Ruth Gottesman (sixth).

The bulk of the donations went to costs that supported causes for illustration technological investigation and education. Gottesman made a move akin to Bloomberg's by donating $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine successful Bronx, New York successful February to make the aesculapian schoolhouse tuition-free arsenic of August 2024.

Related: Former Pediatrics Professor Donates $1 Billion, Makes Albert Einstein College of Medicine Tuition-Free

The apical 50 donors connected the database gave a corporate $16.2 cardinal for philanthropic causes successful 2024. The median magnitude they gave was $100 million.

Paychex laminitis Thomas Golisano was the eighth astir generous philanthropist connected the list, giving distant $500 cardinal successful 2024. Most of his donations, aliases astir $400 million, were no-strings-attached contributions to complete 100 nonprofits successful New York and Florida. One of his areas of attraction is organizations that support group pinch disabilities.

Former finance banker K. Lisa Yang (wife of Broadcom CEO Hock E. Tan) was the 34th philanthropist connected the list. She gave distant $74.5 cardinal this year, mostly to MIT and Cornell University. In February, Yang gave $35 million to Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine's Wildlife Center to support wildlife conservation.

Venture superior investor Michele Kang (No. 28) donated $84 cardinal successful 2024, giving $4 cardinal to the USA Women's Rugby team.

The Philanthropy 50 ranking has been moving for 25 years. In that span of time, Buffett has been the biggest donor, giving distant $49.4 billion.

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates were 2nd overall, giving $34 cardinal together, while Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk were third, fourth, and 5th respectively successful wide charitable contributions.

Bezos committed $10 billion successful 2021 to the Bezos Earth Fund to protect quality and conflict ambiance alteration while Musk has donated around $7 billion since 2020 to his organization, The Musk Foundation, which supports renewable power investigation and subject and engineering education.

Related: 'Unexpected Funding': Paychex's Founder Donates $85 Million to 41 Nonprofits. Here's Where the Money Is Going.

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