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How Many Forbes 400 Billionaires Gave Big in 2016?

By  Maria Di Mento
February 7, 2017

Only 22 people on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans appear on this year’s Philanthropy 50 list. That could be a sign that many of the wealthiest people in America aren’t big givers. But there are important caveats: Some billionaires don’t regularly make the Philanthropy 50 because they donate infrequently in very large amounts. Others may give anonymously or choose not to disclose their charitable giving publicly or to The Chronicle.

These 22 donors gave $3.5 billion in 2016:

Phil 50 RankDonorPhil 50 TotalForbes Rank Net WorthPercentage of wealth directed to charitable giving in 2016
1 Phil and Penny Knight $900 million 18 $25.5 billion 3.5
2 Michael Bloomberg $600.1 million 6 $45 billion 1.3
4 Paul Allen $295 million 21 $18.9 billion 1.6
5 John and Laura Arnold $284 million 232 $2.9 billion 9.8
6 Larry Ellison $271.4 million 5 $49.3 billion 0.6
8 Pierre and Pam Omidyar $173 million 54 $8.1 billion 2.1
9 Bill and Melinda Gates $141.4 million 1 $81 billion 0.2
12 Phillip and Patricia Frost $100 million 134 $4.1 billion 2.4
12 David Geffen $100 million 73 $6.7 billion 1.5
19 Ronald Perelman $89.9 million 33 $12.2 billion 0.7
20 Sean Parker $75 million 290 $2.4 billion 3.1
21 John and Susan Sobrato $68.3 million 83 $5.9 billion 1.2
27 Walter Scott Jr. $53.3 million 150 $3.8 billion 1.4
29 Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman $50 million 222 $3 billion 1.7
29 Elaine Wynn $50 million 361 $1.9 billion 2.6
32 David Rubenstein $49.5 million 290 $2.4 billion 2.1
33 Richard and Nancy Kinder $44.1 million 69 $7 billion 0.6
35 Robert Smith $42.45 million 274 $2.5 billion 1.7
36 Julian Robertson Jr. $41.8 million 174 $3.6 billion 1.2
38 Marc and Lynne Benioff $40 million 150 $3.8 billion 1.1
41 Joe and Rika Mansueto $35 million 321 $2.2 billion 1.6
47 David Koch $28 million 7 $42 billion 0.1

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Only 22 people on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans appear on this year’s Philanthropy 50 list. That could be a sign that many of the wealthiest people in America aren’t big givers. But there are important caveats: Some billionaires don’t regularly make the Philanthropy 50 because they donate infrequently in very large amounts. Others may give anonymously or choose not to disclose their charitable giving publicly or to The Chronicle.

These 22 donors gave $3.5 billion in 2016:

Phil 50 RankDonorPhil 50 TotalForbes Rank Net WorthPercentage of wealth directed to charitable giving in 2016
1 Phil and Penny Knight $900 million 18 $25.5 billion 3.5
2 Michael Bloomberg $600.1 million 6 $45 billion 1.3
4 Paul Allen $295 million 21 $18.9 billion 1.6
5 John and Laura Arnold $284 million 232 $2.9 billion 9.8
6 Larry Ellison $271.4 million 5 $49.3 billion 0.6
8 Pierre and Pam Omidyar $173 million 54 $8.1 billion 2.1
9 Bill and Melinda Gates $141.4 million 1 $81 billion 0.2
12 Phillip and Patricia Frost $100 million 134 $4.1 billion 2.4
12 David Geffen $100 million 73 $6.7 billion 1.5
19 Ronald Perelman $89.9 million 33 $12.2 billion 0.7
20 Sean Parker $75 million 290 $2.4 billion 3.1
21 John and Susan Sobrato $68.3 million 83 $5.9 billion 1.2
27 Walter Scott Jr. $53.3 million 150 $3.8 billion 1.4
29 Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman $50 million 222 $3 billion 1.7
29 Elaine Wynn $50 million 361 $1.9 billion 2.6
32 David Rubenstein $49.5 million 290 $2.4 billion 2.1
33 Richard and Nancy Kinder $44.1 million 69 $7 billion 0.6
35 Robert Smith $42.45 million 274 $2.5 billion 1.7
36 Julian Robertson Jr. $41.8 million 174 $3.6 billion 1.2
38 Marc and Lynne Benioff $40 million 150 $3.8 billion 1.1
41 Joe and Rika Mansueto $35 million 321 $2.2 billion 1.6
47 David Koch $28 million 7 $42 billion 0.1

Among the 117 U.S. signers of the Giving Pledge, 21 landed a spot on the Philanthropy 50. Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates started the Giving Pledge in 2010 to persuade the world’s wealthiest people to commit to giving at least half of their fortunes to charity.

These donors gave $2.7 billion in 2016:

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Phil 50 RankDonorPhil 50 Total
2 Michael Bloomberg $600,100,000
4 Paul Allen $295,000,000
5 John and Laura Arnold $284,000,000*
6 Larry Ellison $271,425,000
8 Pierre and Pam Omidyar $173,000,000*
9 Bill and Melinda Gates $141,400,000*
11 Sheryl Sandberg $107,157,600*
12 Phillip and Patricia Frost $100,000,000
12 Reed Hastings $100,000,000*
19 Ronald Perelman $89,913,892
21 John and Susan Sobrato $68,250,000*
22 Sanford and Joan Weill $63,000,000*
25 Irwin and Joan Jacobs $58,251,000*
26 Sidney and Caroline Kimmel $55,000,000
27 Walter Scott Jr. $53,300,000
28 Annette Simmons $51,000,000
29 Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman $50,000,000
32 David Rubenstein $49,500,000
33 Richard and Nancy Kinder $44,054,709*
36 Julian Robertson Jr. $41,800,000*
41 Joe and Rika Mansueto $35,000,000

*Indicates the primary gift went to the donor’s own foundation

A version of this article appeared in the February 7, 2017, issue.
Read other items in this The 2017 Philanthropy 50 package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Fundraising from IndividualsMajor-Gift Fundraising
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.
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SPONSORED, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

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