Famous Philanthropists - List of Famous Philanthropists - page 3
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 | |||
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Name | Birthday | Nationality | Bio |
Kevin Costner | January 18, 1955 | American | Kevin Costner is an American actor, director and singer who is best known for his portrayal of rugged individuals with complex emotions |
Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel | November 6, 1983 | Saudi Arabian | Princess Ameerah Al-Taweel is a Saudi Arabian princess widely recognized for her philanthropy and activism |
Jimmy Page | January 9, 1944 | British | Jimmy Page is an English musician who rose to fame as the guitarist and leader of the rock band Led Zeppelin |
Shakira | February 2, 1977 | Colombian | Shakira is a highly popular award winning Columbian pop singer and dancer |
Max Polyakov | June 30, 1977 | Ukrainian | Max Polyakov is an international businessman, scientist and philanthropist |
Mel Gibson | January 3, 1956 | American | Mel Gibson is an American actor and filmmaker |
Phil Knight | February 24, 1938 | American | Phil Knight is the co-founder of Nike, Inc., one of the world's largest suppliers of athletic shoes and apparel |
T. B. Joshua | June 12, 1963 | Nigerian | T |
Chris Gardner | February 9, 1954 | American | Chris Gardner is the founder of the famous brokerage enterprise, ‘Gardner Rich & Co.’ |
Sathya Sai Baba | November 23, 1926 | Indian | Sathya Sai Baba was an Indian guru who claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi |
George Peabody
George Peabody was an American-British entrepreneur and philanthropist often referred to as the “father of modern philanthropy”.
Milton S. Hershey
Milton Hershey was an American manufacturer and entrepreneur who started the chocolate candy revolution in the US
Will Keith Kellogg
Will Keith Kellogg was an American industrialist best known as the founder of the Kellogg Company
Joseph Pulitzer
Joseph Pulitzer was one of the most prominent US journalists and publisher of his times
Jerry Greenfield
Jerry Greenfield is the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American business tycoon and philanthropist
Raisa Gorbacheva
Raisa Gorbachev was the wife of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper was an American industrialist and inventor who built the first steam locomotive in the U.S
Laurance Rockefeller
Laurance Rockefeller was an American businessman, venture capitalist, philanthropist and a prominent environmentalist