Bloomberg’s Luck: See How He Became America’s Top Philanthropist

Guess who’s leading the pack when it comes to giving back? It’s Michael Bloomberg! At 83, he’s topped the list of America’s biggest donors for the second year running, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

In 2024 alone, Bloomberg gave a whopping $3. 7 billion to good causes. Think arts, education, public health, and even helping cities run better. He does it through his organization, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and straight from his own pocket.

A Billion-Dollar Gift for Future Doctors

One huge gift? A $1 billion grant to Johns Hopkins University. This will cover medical school costs for students. Imagine starting your career without that debt!

Bloomberg once said he doesn’t get people who wait until they die to give their money away. “Why deny yourself the satisfaction? ” he asked. He feels lucky and wants to help others and make the world a better place for future generations.

Who Else is Giving Big?

Bloomberg isn’t alone in his generosity. Several others gave away $1 billion or more last year. They include:

• Netflix’s Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin
• Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell and his wife, Susan Dell
• Warren Buffett (of course! )
• Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan
• Retired professor Ruth Gottesman

Most of these donations went to things like scientific research and education. Gottesman, like Bloomberg, made a huge gift to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, making it tuition-free!

The Numbers Don’t Lie

The top 50 donors gave a total of $16. 2 billion to charity in 2024. That’s incredible!

Paychex founder Thomas Golisano also made the list, giving away $500 million, mostly with no strings attached, to nonprofits in New York and Florida. He’s especially focused on helping people with disabilities. K. Lisa Yang, wife of Broadcom CEO Hock E. Tan, gave a ton to MIT and Cornell, including supporting wildlife conservation at Cornell’s vet school.

A Legacy of Giving

The Philanthropy 50 list has been around for 25 years. Over that time, Warren Buffett has been the biggest giver, donating a staggering $49. 4 billion. Bill and Melinda Gates are second, followed by Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.

Bezos pledged $10 billion to fight climate change, and Musk has donated around $7 billion to renewable energy research and science education. It just goes to show, there are many out there who want to make the world a better place.