Around the world, a handful of billionaires have chosen to use their fortunes not just to build businesses, but to reshape society. From fighting poverty and disease to expanding global education and improving healthcare, these individuals have donated tens of billions of dollars—often giving away more than half of everything they own. The list below highlights the world’s most influential modern philanthropists, how they built their wealth, and how much of it they have dedicated to charity.
1. Bill & Melinda French Gates — Microsoft → Global Health & Development
Source of wealth: Co-founder Bill Gates built his fortune from Microsoft.
Giving: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reports total charitable spend since its founding of about $102.3 billion (through Q4 2024), and Bill & Melinda Gates’ cumulative giving to the foundation and related efforts is commonly reported in the tens of billions; the foundation says it has given more than $100 billion since inception and plans substantially larger spending over the next two decades.
2. Warren Buffett — Berkshire Hathaway → Investments
Source of wealth: Longtime chairman of Berkshire Hathaway; wealth from investments.
Giving: Buffett has been a major donor to the Gates Foundation and others. Recent filings and press reports show roughly $60 billion donated since 2006 (including a large 2025 stock gift). In November 2025 he announced an additional ~$6 billion donation that brings his lifetime giving to around $60 billion.
3. George Soros — Hedge Funds → Open Society Foundations
Source of wealth: Founder of the Quantum Fund/hedge fund businesses.
Giving: Soros has directed more than $32 billion into his Open Society network; Open Society Foundations reports multi-billion endowments and tens of billions in expenditures over decades (Open Society assets/activities exceed $20B). Soros is one of the most generous givers in absolute and percentage terms.
4. Azim Premji — Wipro → Indian education & development
Source of wealth: Founder and large shareholder of Wipro (IT services).
Giving: Azim Premji has transferred very large blocks of Wipro shares to his foundation and by 2025 his cumulative donations are widely reported at around $20–21 billion (₹75,000+ crore) — making him one of Asia’s largest individual donors.
5. MacKenzie Scott — Amazon stock → Unrestricted philanthropy
Source of wealth: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ ex-spouse; wealth largely from Amazon stock.
Giving: Since 2019 Scott has given away well over $19 billion to more than 2,400 organisations, continuing large, mostly unrestricted gifts in 2024–2025. (Reporting updated Nov 2025.)
6. Michael Bloomberg — Bloomberg LP → Public health, environment, education
Source of wealth: Founder of Bloomberg LP (financial data & media).
Giving: Bloomberg has given more than $20–21 billion over many years. He was the top US donor in 2024 (about $3.7 billion in 2024 alone) and lifetime giving totals exceed $20 billion per major outlets.
7. Mark Zuckerberg & Priscilla Chan — Meta/ Facebook → Education & science
Source of wealth: Meta / Facebook equity owned by Mark Zuckerberg (joint initiatives with Priscilla Chan).
Giving: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) reports roughly $7+ billion in grants and related investments since 2015. The couple have pledged to give the bulk of their wealth (they’ve publicly pledged 99% over their lifetimes), though the bulk of that remains in pledged form rather than fully dispersed as grants.
8. Pierre & Pam Omidyar — eBay → Civic & media philanthropy
Source of wealth: Pierre Omidyar founded eBay; wealth invested via the Omidyar Network and related vehicles.
Giving: The Omidyar family’s giving vehicles (Omidyar Network and related ventures) have committed nearly $2 billion in grants and investments since inception; lifetime personal/giving figures reported in multiple philanthropy rankings are in the low-single-digit billions.
9. Steve & Connie Ballmer — Microsoft → Education & community causes
Source of wealth: Steve Ballmer made his fortune at Microsoft (former CEO).
Giving: The Ballmers have donated several billion dollars through the Ballmer Group; recent reporting lists their lifetime giving around $5 billion (Ballmer Group annual and multiyear pledges continue into 2025). The Ballmers also announced major multi-year commitments in 2025 for early-childhood education.
10. (Honourable mention) Chuck Feeney — Duty Free Shops → “Giving While Living” model
Source of wealth: Co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers (DFS).
Giving: The late Chuck Feeney gave away almost his entire fortune — about $8 billion — and is famous for giving most of his wealth away in his lifetime. He is cited widely as an inspiration for modern philanthropists.
Why these figures matter
These ten examples illustrate two important trends in modern philanthropy: (1) scale — billion-dollar gifts and foundations reshape global health, education and climate policy; and (2) style — newer givers (e.g., MacKenzie Scott) favour fast, unrestricted grants, while traditional foundations (Gates, Bloomberg) fund long-term programmes and institutional investment.
