Famous Philanthropists - List of Famous Philanthropists - page 13

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
Joel Osteen

Joel Osteen

Joel Osteen is a famous American preacher and televangelist

AmericanMarch 5, 1963166 views

James A. Michener

James A Michener was a Pulitzer Prize winning American novelist and short story writer

James Blunt

James Blunt is an English singer-songwriter

BritishFebruary 22, 1974144 views

George Muller

George Muller was a Christian evangelist who founded the Ashley Down orphanage in England and cared for over 10,000 orphans in his life

Prussian177 views

George Lucas

George Lucas is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and philanthropist

AmericanMay 14, 1944157 views

Dave Thomas

Dave Thomas was the founder of Wendy’s a fast food restaurant chain

AmericanJuly 2, 1932182 views

Colin Farrell

From the shores of Ireland to Hollywood, actor Collin Farrell’s journey to stardom and fame was a quick rise both on and off screen

IrishMay 31, 1976135 views

Coolio

Coolio is a well-known American rap artist, musician and record producer

AmericanAugust 1, 1963540 views

Cindy Crawford

Cindy Crawford is an American supermodel and actor

AmericanFebruary 20, 1966283 views

Princess Anne

Princess Anne is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

BritishAugust 15, 1950193 views