The World’s Biggest Givers
May. 19 2011 - 9:59 pm | 5,791 views | 2 recommendations | 2 comments
At Forbes we spend a lot of time calculating the billions that people have amassed. We also track what they give away. Based on our recent analysis, we have identified what looks like a pretty elite club: 19 peoplewho have already donated at least $1 billion each to charities or foundations. That is five more than we found two years ago. More than two-thirds of these philanthropists (13 to be exact) are from the U.S. and all but one is a self-made entrepreneur.
No surprise at the very top of the list: Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates is the most generous person on the planet in dollar terms, having gifted $28 billion to his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has become the preeminent philanthropic institution in the world. He has given away more than three times as much as his good friend Warren Buffett, who moves up two spots to number two, ahead of George Soros ($8 billion) and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore ($6.8 billion).Buffett used to famously brag that he wouldn’t give his money away until after his death. He had a change of heart and in 2006 announced he’d transfer $30 billion in stock over 20 years into the Gates foundation. He has since given away $8.3 billion including $1.9 billion last year.
Now he and Gates are trying to get others to follow suit. Last year they created the Giving Pledge to spur America’s wealthiest individuals and families to give away the majority of their fortunes to charity, [either during their lifetimes or after they die.] So far 69 have signed up 
