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The Rich List

By  Maria Di Mento
February 9, 2016

Only 23 of the donors on the Philanthropy 50 list also appear on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans. It may be a sign that many of the wealthiest people in America aren’t big givers. But there’s an important caveat: Some generous billionaires don’t regularly make the Philanthropy 50 because they donate infrequently in very large amounts and some of them may give anonymously.

These 23 donors gave more than $3.6 billion in 2015.

DonorPhilanthropy 50 rankPhilanthropy 50 totalNet worthPercentage of wealth directed to charitable giving in 2015
John and Laura Arnold 13 $162.5 million $2.9 bilion 5.6
Pierre and Pam Omidyar 5 $327 million $8 bilion 4.1
John and Jenny Paulson 4 $400 million $11.4 bilion 3.5
Mark and Mary Stevens 34 $61 million $1.8 bilion 3.4
David Rubenstein 27 $85.9 million $2.6 bilion 3.3
J.B. and M.K. Pritzker 20 $101 million $3.4 bilion 3
David Geffen 8 $200 million $6.9 bilion 2.9
John and Rosemary Brown 35 $59 million $2.2 bilion 2.7
Jack Taylor 11 $187.8 million $10.1 bilion 1.9
Stephen and Christine Schwarzman 8 $200 million $11.6 bilion 1.7
Gordon and Betty Moore 23 $100 million $6.2bilion 1.6
Michael Bloomberg 3 $510 million $38.6 bilion 1.3
Marc and Lynne Benioff 40 $50.5 million $3.8 bilion 1.3
Jan Koum 33 $64.2 million $7.7 bilion 0.8
Alice Walton 7 $224.8 million $32 bilion 0.7
Michael and Marian Ilitch 47 $40 million $5.4 bilion 0.7
Paul G. Allen 17 $113 million $17.8 bilion 0.6
David Koch 10 $192 million $41 bilion 0.5
Bill and Melinda Gates 6 $272 million $76 bilion 0.4
Ray and Barbara Dalio 32 $65 million $15.3 bilion 0.4
Jim Walton 25 $91.1 million $33.7 bilion 0.3
Robson Walton 25 $91.1 million $31.7 bilion 0.3
Lawrence Ellison 44 $49.5 million $47.5 bilion 0.1

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Only 23 of the donors on the Philanthropy 50 list also appear on the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans. It may be a sign that many of the wealthiest people in America aren’t big givers. But there’s an important caveat: Some generous billionaires don’t regularly make the Philanthropy 50 because they donate infrequently in very large amounts and some of them may give anonymously.

These 23 donors gave more than $3.6 billion in 2015.

DonorPhilanthropy 50 rankPhilanthropy 50 totalNet worthPercentage of wealth directed to charitable giving in 2015
John and Laura Arnold 13 $162.5 million $2.9 bilion 5.6
Pierre and Pam Omidyar 5 $327 million $8 bilion 4.1
John and Jenny Paulson 4 $400 million $11.4 bilion 3.5
Mark and Mary Stevens 34 $61 million $1.8 bilion 3.4
David Rubenstein 27 $85.9 million $2.6 bilion 3.3
J.B. and M.K. Pritzker 20 $101 million $3.4 bilion 3
David Geffen 8 $200 million $6.9 bilion 2.9
John and Rosemary Brown 35 $59 million $2.2 bilion 2.7
Jack Taylor 11 $187.8 million $10.1 bilion 1.9
Stephen and Christine Schwarzman 8 $200 million $11.6 bilion 1.7
Gordon and Betty Moore 23 $100 million $6.2bilion 1.6
Michael Bloomberg 3 $510 million $38.6 bilion 1.3
Marc and Lynne Benioff 40 $50.5 million $3.8 bilion 1.3
Jan Koum 33 $64.2 million $7.7 bilion 0.8
Alice Walton 7 $224.8 million $32 bilion 0.7
Michael and Marian Ilitch 47 $40 million $5.4 bilion 0.7
Paul G. Allen 17 $113 million $17.8 bilion 0.6
David Koch 10 $192 million $41 bilion 0.5
Bill and Melinda Gates 6 $272 million $76 bilion 0.4
Ray and Barbara Dalio 32 $65 million $15.3 bilion 0.4
Jim Walton 25 $91.1 million $33.7 bilion 0.3
Robson Walton 25 $91.1 million $31.7 bilion 0.3
Lawrence Ellison 44 $49.5 million $47.5 bilion 0.1

Among the 114 U.S. signers of the Giving Pledge, 13 landed a spot on the Philanthropy 50. The Giving Pledge was started in 2010 by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to persuade the world’s wealthiest people to commit to giving at least 50 percent of their wealth to charity.

These donors gave nearly $2 billion.

Michael Bloomberg (No. 3) $510 million
Pierre and Pam Omidyar (No. 5) $327 million*
Bill and Melinda Gates (No. 6) $272 million*
John and Laura Arnold (No. 13) $162.5 million*
Paul Allen (No. 17) $113 million
Gordon and Betty Moore (No. 23) $100 million
David Rubenstein (No. 27) $85.9 million
Joan and Irwin Jacobs (No. 29) $82.3 million
Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest (No. 30) $80 million
Ray and Barbara Dalio (No. 32) $65 million*
Mark and Mary Stevens (No. 34) $61 million
Herbert and Nicole Wertheim (No. 39) $52 million
Larry Ellison (No. 44) $49.5 million*

* Indicates primary gift to their own foundations

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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.
Results and ReportingMajor-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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