Who are the millionaires that are giving away money to charities and other organizations? Well many millionaires are very generous, but the philanthropists that are making the biggest contribution are the billionaires. Yes, the super rich billionaires give away fortunes.
Of the biggest philanthropist, Warren Buffet and Bill and Melinda Gates are the biggest. Between the 3 of them they had donated about $70 billion dollars by 2007. This type of giving has not been seen anytime throughout history.
Up until the year 1997, no one had contributed more that $80,000,000. Obviously still a lot of money, but nowhere near today’s standards.
In that year, Ted Turner broke all records by giving $1 Billion dollars to his favorite non profit organization.
This one act has led to what seems as though the billionaires are competing to be the biggest philanthropist. This is, however, a very good thing for the numerous charities that are receiving millions and even billions of dollars.
There are many other billionaires and millionaires who give money to others. Some of the biggest givers are Gordon Moore (Intel), the Walton’s (Wal-Mart), Paul Allen of Oracle, Oprah Winfrey, and George Lucas.
The concept of philanthropy is not a new things, the wealthy of the world, at least a group of them, have always enjoyed giving to those in needed. However, a lot has changed.
This change has definitely been positive, it simply has to do with the number of givers and the amounts they give. The beginning of the 21 century has marked a new era in the world of philanthropy.