2017 Philanthropy 50 Related Stories ➞
The 2017 Philanthropy 50: Where They Live, Where They Give, and More
By Maria Di Mento and Nidhi Singh
February 7, 2017 | Read Time: 1 minute
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.
Philanthropy 50 Over the Past Decade
See total giving as well as the smallest, median, and largest individual contributions for each year.
| Year | Total | Most | Least | Median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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.
Geographic Breakdown
The District of Columbia and 35 states have no donors on the list.
