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The 2017 Philanthropy 50: Where They Live, Where They Give, and More

By  Maria Di Mento and 
Nidhi Singh
February 7, 2017

Find out more about America’s 50 biggest donors: their ages, source of wealth, where they live, and where they give. Because of a tie, this year’s Philanthropy 50 has 51 donors.

Big Contributions to Higher Education

Colleges and universities received 48 percent of the $5.6 billion that the Philanthropy 50 gave away.

Note: Not all donors provided names of organizations to which they gave.

Tech and Finance Titans Loom Large

The Philanthropy 50 includes 16 donors from the finance industry and nine in technology. Together they gave $2.2 billion in 2016; that’s 39.5 percent of the total given by all donors on the list.

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Find out more about America’s 50 biggest donors: their ages, source of wealth, where they live, and where they give. Because of a tie, this year’s Philanthropy 50 has 51 donors.

Big Contributions to Higher Education

Colleges and universities received 48 percent of the $5.6 billion that the Philanthropy 50 gave away.

Note: Not all donors provided names of organizations to which they gave.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tech and Finance Titans Loom Large

The Philanthropy 50 includes 16 donors from the finance industry and nine in technology. Together they gave $2.2 billion in 2016; that’s 39.5 percent of the total given by all donors on the list.

Philanthropy 50 Over the Past Decade

See total giving as well as the smallest, median, and largest individual contributions for each year.

YearTotalMostLeastMedian
2016 $5,644,967,201 $900,000,000 $25,100,000 $55,000,000
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

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

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From Youngest to Oldest

Sean Parker, 37, is the youngest philanthropist on the list and Robert Larner, 99, is the oldest. The median age is 68.5. The number of individual donors adds up to 62 because some are couples. Not all donors disclosed their age.

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Geographic Breakdown

The District of Columbia and 35 states have no donors on the list.

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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.
Nidhi Singh
Nidhi Singh was a web producer and writer for The Chronicle of Philanthropy from 2015-2017.
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SPONSORED, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

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  • The 2017 Philanthropy 50
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