Famous Philanthropists - List of Famous Philanthropists - page 5

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
Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart

Gina Rinehart is an Australian mining heiress, counted amongst the richest women in the world

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg is an American business magnate who has also served as the Mayor of New York City

AmericanFebruary 14, 1942224 views

Liliane Bettencourt

Liliane Bettencourt was a French heiress and businesswoman, who was one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal

FrenchOctober 21, 1922199 views

Charles Koch

Charles Koch is an American businessman and philanthropist who is the co-owner of Koch Industries

Li Ka-shing

Li Ka-shing, a Hong Kong entrepreneur and philanthropist, one of the wealthiest persons in Asia

CanadianJuly 29, 1928272 views

Bernard Arnault

Bernard Arnault is a French business magnate and investor, currently the richest person in France

FrenchMarch 5, 1949169 views

David H. Koch

David Koch is an American businessman and philanthropist

AmericanMay 3, 1940147 views

Steve Ballmer

Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft and the current owner of the Los Angeles Clippers

AmericanMarch 24, 1956542 views

Prafulla Chandra Ray

Prafulla Chandra Ray was a renowned Indian Chemist who founded the chemical manufacture company ‘Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Works Ltd.’

IndianAugust 2, 1861168 views

Kathy Ireland

Kathy Ireland is a renowned model and owner of ‘Kathy Ireland worldwide’ which is one of the leading global brands in designing

AmericanMarch 20, 1963241 views