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

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
Ted Lerner

Ted Lerner

Ted Lerner is a prominent American real estate developer

AmericanOctober 15, 1925111 views

George Peabody

George Peabody was an American-British entrepreneur and philanthropist often referred to as the “father of modern philanthropy”.

AmericanFebruary 18, 1795133 views

Milton S. Hershey

Milton Hershey was an American manufacturer and entrepreneur who started the chocolate candy revolution in the US

AmericanSeptember 13, 1857183 views

Will Keith Kellogg

Will Keith Kellogg was an American industrialist best known as the founder of the Kellogg Company

AmericanApril 7, 1860168 views

Joseph Pulitzer

Joseph Pulitzer was one of the most prominent US journalists and publisher of his times

HungarianApril 10, 1847142 views

Jerry Greenfield

Jerry Greenfield is the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company

AmericanMarch 14, 1951106 views

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Cornelius Vanderbilt was an American business tycoon and philanthropist

AmericanMay 27, 1794144 views

Raisa Gorbacheva

Raisa Gorbachev was the wife of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev

RussianJanuary 5, 1932119 views

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

AmericanMay 26, 1910204 views