Someone donated a 2.6 carat diamond worth $17,600 to Goodwill recently--no one knows who or why. It got me to thinking about other large charity donations. Here are five big ones:
- Warren Buffet (CEO of Berkshire Hathaway) donated $37 billion (paid out over time) to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has an endowment of $34 billion with Bill Gates (Microsoft co-founder) pledging to give all of his $58 billion fortune.
- Vladimir Potanin (Russian billionaire) has pledged most of his $2.1 billion fortune.
- Joan B. Kroc (wife of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc) gave $1.5 billion to Salvation Army.
- William Hewlett ( of Hewlett-Packard) gave $6 billion.
To read about other big-time philanthropists, check out these articles from barrons.com and money.cnn.com. To get in on the giving yourself, check out charitynavigator.org. Like an old Proverb says, "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor."
--Jens
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