No. 33 (tied): Thomas F. Steyer and Kathryn A. Taylor

Drew Altizer Drew Altizer

February 6, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute

Amount donated in 2011: $40-million

Biggest beneficiary: Yale University

Other key beneficiary: Center for the Next Generation

Donors’ background: Mr. Steyer, 54, is the founder and a senior managing member of Farallon Capital Management, a hedge fund in San Francisco. He and his wife, Kathryn Taylor, 53, founded One PacificCoast Bank (formerly OneCalifornia Bank), a community-development bank.

Mr. Steyer, and Ms. Taylor pledged $25-million to Yale University to start the Energy Sciences Institute. The institute will bring together scientists from various disciplines to develop solutions to the world’s energy challenges. The money will be used to attract top faculty members and create interdisciplinary research programs involving the university’s science and engineering departments. The university did not disclose a payment schedule.

Mr. Steyer graduated from Yale in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science.

Mr. Steyer and Ms. Taylor also pledged $15-million over five years to the Center for the Next Generation, in San Francisco, a nonprofit organization that supports programs and policies that benefit young Americans.

—Caroline Bermudez