Famous Philanthropists - List of Famous Philanthropists - page 2

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
Amy Lee

Amy Lee

Amy Lee is an American singer song-writer

AmericanDecember 13, 1981295 views

John Eleuthère du Pont

John Eleuthère du Pont was an American philanthropist and heir to the Du Pont family fortune

AmericanNovember 22, 1938127 views

Cyrus McCormick

Cyrus McCormick was an American industrialist who invented the mechanical reaper and founded the McCormick Harvesting Company

AmericanFebruary 15, 1809129 views

Phillip Frost

Phillip Frost is one of the top most entrepreneurs of America

American1936124 views

Robert Kraft

Robert Kraft is an American business magnate who is the Chief Executive Officer of The Kraft Group

AmericanJune 5, 1941154 views

Ronald Lauder

Ronald Lauder is an American businessman and art collector who opened the art museum Neue Galerie in New York

AmericanFebruary 26, 1944119 views

Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson was the First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969

AmericanDecember 22, 1912139 views

Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman is an American internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of LinkedIn

AmericanAugust 5, 1967188 views

Johns Hopkins

Johns Hopkins was an American entrepreneur and investor who left large endowments in his will to found Johns Hopkins University

AmericanMay 19, 1795217 views