Founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, announced that he would be donating 99% of
his family’s Facebook shares to charity.
This ballooned his total contributions to an estimated $45 billion dollars over the
course of his life.
It could end up being the largest financial donation in history.
But in fact, this form of charity has becoming increasingly popular in recent years, as the
number of ultra-rich multi billionaires continues to rise.
So we wanted to know, Who Has Donated The Most Money To Charity Ever?
Well, one of the most well known philanthropists is also the richest person on earth: Bill
Gates.
In 2008, the founder of Microsoft left his company to focus on philanthropy, and pledged
to donate 95% of his fortune to charity.
Since then, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has established an endowment of more than
41 billion dollars, making it the wealthiest charitable foundation in the world.
Their primary focus is on improving healthcare and education, while reducing extreme poverty
through grants to smaller, localized charities.
They also fund research and development of new technologies to help get clean water and
sanitation services to regions in need.
But while Bill Gates is perhaps the best known philanthropist, he is not the most generous.
It is, in fact, business magnate Warren Buffett.
He began the recent trend of donating the bulk of one’s entire fortunes to charity.
In 2006, Buffett pledged nearly all of his, then $44 billion dollar estate, to the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation.
This pledge, like Zuckerberg’s was reportedly made in shares of his company, Berkshire-Hathaway.
However, Zuckerberg’s $45-billion-dollar pledge may just end up surpassing both Gates
and Buffet’s contributions.
Over time, Facebook’s share price could increase, upping the total donation amount.
But unlike the other two philanthropists, Zuckerberg’s money is going to his own “Chan
Zuckerberg Initiative”.
The foundation is not technically a charitable trust, but a limited liability corporation,
meaning that the money does not actually have to be spent on charity.
Some see this as unreasonable, especially since the goals of the organization are relatively
vague: advancing human potential and promoting equality.
Still, Zuckerberg, Buffet, and Gates have not only cleared the way for charity, but
have also inspired others to donate significant sums.
In 2010, Buffett and Gates started the Giving Pledge, to encourage the ultra-rich to pledge
at least half of their fortunes to charity.
Many wealthy individuals have signed on, including Michael Bloomberg, Tim Cook, Larry Ellison,
and more than 130 others spanning across 14 countries.
While the top three are estimated to have pledged over 100 billion dollars,
the effort to convince others to give may have even more powerful effects into the future
of charity.
Part of the reason Zuckerberg was able to donate so much is because of his position
at the helm of what is arguably the world’s most powerful tech company.
Learn more about Facebook’s impact on the world in our video.
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