Famous Philanthropists - List of Famous Philanthropists

Philanthropists are the individuals who strive to contribute to the well-being of humankind through their efforts, time and money. They are actively involved in promoting human welfare, and usually strive to achieve this by making generous donation of money to worthy causes. Philanthropy is often associated with the wealthy as they have more resources to donate, but not everyone who is wealthy is engaged in philanthropy! One of the best known philanthropists of our time is Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates who along with his wife Melinda is a co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Equally well known for his philanthropy is American industrialist and investor Warren Buffet who has pledged to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes. Li Ka-shing and George Soros are also noted philanthropists. Several of the modern day philanthropists cite the Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie as their inspiration—Carnegie gave away almost 90 percent of his fortune to charities, foundations, and universities. He is also credited to have urged the other wealthy people to use their fortunes to help improve society. Read on to discover about the life and works of various famous philanthropists from all over the world.

List of famous philanthropists with their biographies that include trivia, interesting facts, timeline and life history.

The Most Famous Philanthropists

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Kevin CostnerJanuary 18, 1955AmericanKevin Costner is an American actor, director and singer who is best known for his portrayal of rugged individuals with complex emotions
Princess Ameerah Al-TaweelNovember 6, 1983Saudi ArabianPrincess Ameerah Al-Taweel is a Saudi Arabian princess widely recognized for her philanthropy and activism
Jimmy PageJanuary 9, 1944BritishJimmy Page is an English musician who rose to fame as the guitarist and leader of the rock band Led Zeppelin
ShakiraFebruary 2, 1977ColombianShakira is a highly popular award winning Columbian pop singer and dancer
Max PolyakovJune 30, 1977UkrainianMax Polyakov is an international businessman, scientist and philanthropist
Mel GibsonJanuary 3, 1956AmericanMel Gibson is an American actor and filmmaker
Phil KnightFebruary 24, 1938AmericanPhil Knight is the co-founder of Nike, Inc., one of the world's largest suppliers of athletic shoes and apparel
T. B. JoshuaJune 12, 1963NigerianT
Chris GardnerFebruary 9, 1954AmericanChris Gardner is the founder of the famous brokerage enterprise, ‘Gardner Rich & Co.’
Sathya Sai BabaNovember 23, 1926IndianSathya Sai Baba was an Indian guru who claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi
Cecil John Rhodes

Cecil John Rhodes

Cecil Rhodes was a politician cum businessman who founded the diamond company De Beers

BritishJuly 5, 1853139 views

Carlos Santana

Carlos Santana is a world-famous Mexican-American musician

AmericanJuly 20, 1947201 views

Usher

Usher Raymond IV is a popular American singer and songwriter

AmericanOctober 14, 1978197 views

Billy Graham

Billy Graham is an American Baptist evangelist, known for preaching the message of Christianity around the world

Pope John Paul II

John Paul II, also known as Blessed John Paul, served as the Pope of the Catholic Church for more than two and half decades

PolishMay 18, 1920174 views

Ashley Judd

Ashley Judd is an acclaimed Golden Globe nominated American actresses

AmericanApril 19, 1968111 views

Annie Lennox

Annie Lennox is a singer famous for her work with Eurythmics, a group she formed with the musician David A

ScottishDecember 25, 1954184 views

Andrew William Mellon

Andrew Mellon was an American industrialist and philanthropist

AmericanMarch 24, 1855137 views

Henry Dunant

Henry Dunant or Jean Henri Dunant was a Swiss social and peace activist who founded the Red Cross and was the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize

SwissMay 8, 1828345 views

José Carreras

José Carreras is a Spanish tenor, best known for his performances as one of the Three Tenors

SpanishDecember 5, 1946230 views