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6 Graphics to Tell You More About the 2016 Philanthropy 50

By  Maria Di Mento and 
Nidhi Singh
February 9, 2016
Ages5

What causes and institutions received the most money from America’s 50 most generous donors in 2015? Which states have the most big donors? Which states received the most contributions? Plus: Compare the giving of tech moguls, finance titans, and those who inherited their wealth.

Where the Donations of $1 Million or More Went

Notes: Not all donors provided names of organizations to which they gave. The other-groups category is made up of single gifts to several organizations: $15 million to an environmental group, $4.5 million to a zoo, $2 million to a health charity, and $1 million to public broadcasting.

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What causes and institutions received the most money from America’s 50 most generous donors in 2015? Which states have the most big donors? Which states received the most contributions? Plus: Compare the giving of tech moguls, finance titans, and those who inherited their wealth.

Where the Donations of $1 Million or More Went

Notes: Not all donors provided names of organizations to which they gave. The other-groups category is made up of single gifts to several organizations: $15 million to an environmental group, $4.5 million to a zoo, $2 million to a health charity, and $1 million to public broadcasting.

Source of Wealth

The Philanthropy 50 included 13 finance donors, 10 tech donors, and 8 who inherited wealth. Together they gave $4.3 billion in 2015; that’s 61 percent of the total given by all donors on the list that year.

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Philanthropy 50 Over the Past Decade

See the total giving for each year and the smallest, median, and largest amounts given by individual philanthropists.

Year Total Most Least Median
2015 $6,952,984,408 $758,866,026 $32,600,000 $91,125,000
2014 $10,208,489,408 $1,920,000,000 $43,321,908 $92,500,000
2013 $7,678,542,954 $992,160,000 $37,500,000 $8,610,000
2012 $7,438,511,292 $3,084,315,989 $27,000,000 $49,600,000
2011 $10,435,423,966 $6,000,000,000 $26,000,000 $60,972,835
2010 $3,258,472,656 $332,000,000 $20,000,000 $39,575,700
2009 $4,124,039,702 $705,000,000 $16,200,000 $41,400,000
2008 $15,538,489,255 $5,200,000,000 $30,450,000 $69,300,000
2007 $7,393,049,567 $1,200,000,000 $39,000,000 $74,700,000
2006 $50,736,471,425 $43,549,295,000 $37,600,000 $73,200,000
2005 $4,042,922,673 $404,000,000 $25,000,000 $40,600,000

Note: The 2006 total includes Warren Buffett’s $36.1 billion pledge to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Ages of Living Donors

Jan Koum, 39, is the youngest and Jack Taylor, 93 is the oldest. The median age is 69.

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Note: Some donors did not disclose their age.

Where the Philanthropy 50 Live

Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia have no donors on the list.

Where the Philanthropy 50 Give

A version of this article appeared in the February 9, 2016, issue.
Read other items in this The 2016 Philanthropy 50 package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Major-Gift FundraisingFoundation GivingResults and Reporting
Maria Di Mento
Maria directs the annual Philanthropy 50, a comprehensive report on America’s most generous donors. She writes about wealthy philanthropists, arts organizations, key trends and insights related to high-net-worth donors, and other topics.
Nidhi Singh
Nidhi Singh was a web producer and writer for The Chronicle of Philanthropy from 2015-2017.
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