Famous Philanthropists - List of Famous Philanthropists - page 10

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
Ruth Graham

Ruth Graham

Ruth Graham was an American philanthropist, poet, author and painter

ChineseJune 10, 1920117 views

Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall is an acclaimed Hollywood actor & director with a long list of critically and commercially successful films

AmericanJanuary 5, 1931144 views

Neale Donald Walsch

Neale Donald Walsch is an American author, screenwriter and speaker

AmericanSeptember 10, 1943122 views

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando was an American actor, considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of all time

AmericanApril 3, 1924169 views

Mario Lemieux

Mario Lemieux is a Canadian former ice hockey player

CanadianOctober 5, 1965389 views

Laura Bush

Laura Bush is the wife of the former President of United States of America, George W

Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison is the co-founder and chairman of Oracle Corporation

AmericanAugust 17, 1944291 views

John Hume

John Hume is famous as the founding member of the Social Democratic and Labor Party in Ireland

IrishJanuary 18, 1937113 views

Joan Collins

Joan Collins is a British actress and author best known for playing the vengeful ex-wife, Alexis Carrington Colby, in the prime time television drama ‘Dynasty’.

BritishMay 23, 1933243 views

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor and film producer who was a part of the highly popular duo of Martin and Lewis during the mid 20th century

AmericanMarch 16, 1926279 views