Industry Surveys
America's Richest Were Less Philanthropic In 2010 - Report
America's wealthiest charity donors gave only a total of $3.3 billion in 2010, a new report by The Chronicle Of Philanthropy shows.
According to the publication, while more than 50 billionaires said last year that they would be more involved in gift giving, just 17 of its annual list of 50 most generous donors belonged to Forbes magazine's list of 400 richest Americans.
The latest rankings, which listed 54 individuals, was based on the cumulative total each individual set aside for charity. Of the 54, 9 committed over $100 million in 2010, down from 16 in 2007 and 18 in 2006. The median amount was $39.6 million, compared to $41.9 million in 2009. The publication says that the year's $3.3 billion total is the smallest sum it has recorded since it began tracking the activities of donors in the year 2000.
Fears that the economy would recede into recession fuelled the lack of enthusiasm over charitable activities, according to the report. For 2011, however, things may look up due to a more positive outlook and estate tax amendments by the federal government.
"I'm optimistic about it; people will take some of this certainty and turn it into philanthropy," Richard Mittenthal, president of TCC Group, was quoted as saying.
The most popular choice of 2010 donations were colleges and universities, which received almost half of the $5 million donated by the list's top 50. Hospitals and medical centers came in second.
The largest donation came from hedge fund manager George Soros, who gave $332 million to his Open Society Foundations in New York, followed by Michael Bloomberg, who divided $279.2 million among nearly 1,000 charities. San Diego businessman T Denny Sanford committed $162.5 million to several health organizations.
Philanthropy's biggest names, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, did not appear on the list as the amounts they gave in 2010, $46.4 million and $1.9 billion respectively, were counted towards pledges announced in earlier years. The youngest person on the list, 26-year-old Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, pledged $100 million to help overhaul Newark, New Jersey's education system.
