It seems the recession has not stopped the world’s wealthiest individuals from donating generous amounts of money to philanthropic causes, as there are 14 living philanthropists who have donated $1 billion or more in their lifetimes, Forbes reported.
Leading the list was Bill Gates, who has donated $28 billion so far, mostly through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation is dedicated to bringing innovations in health and learning to the global community.
In second place was hedge fund manager George Soros – who recently donated $35 million to fund a back-to-school shopping program for disadvantaged New York children – with a total of $7.2 billion in philanthropic donations.
Scientist Gordon Moore placed third with $6.8 billion – most of it as stock in the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation – followed by Warren Buffett in fourth place with $6.4 billion.
Eleven of the philanthropists on the list are billionaires, while three donors are not counted as billionaires largely as a result of their donations.
Interestingly, 10 of the 14 most generous philanthropists are from the United States, which only claims 45 percent of the world’s billionaires as residents, Forbes reported.
In addition, all but one of the philanthropists on Forbes’ list are self-made.
"People who make their own money, entrepreneurs, are the most generous," Leslie Lenkowsky, a professor at Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy, told Forbes. "They understand they’ve been very fortunate, and their good fortune in society depended on the schools they attended and their communities."
The Forbes data is consistent with an earlier study from Ledbury Research, which found that the majority of wealthy individuals consider philanthropy a "key expense" that they would maintain despite the recession. In addition, the survey found increased philanthropic activity among self-made individuals as compared to those with inherited wealth.