Famous Philanthropists - List of Famous Philanthropists - page 9

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
Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges

Ruby Bridges is renowned for being the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school

Carlos Slim

A multi-billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Carlos Slim is known for his self-made fortune

MexicanJanuary 28, 1940182 views

A. Alfred Taubman

Adolf Alfred Taubman was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist known for conceptualizing the modern shopping malls

AmericanJanuary 31, 1924135 views

Sunil Bharti Mittal

Sunil Bharti Mittal is an Indian entrepreneur who founded Bharti Enterprises

IndianOctober 23, 1957193 views

Jamsetji Tata

Jamsetji Tata was an Indian entrepreneur who founded the Tata Group

IndianMarch 3, 1839213 views

Richard Attenborough

Richard Attenborough was an actor and film director best known for his Academy Award winning movie, ‘Gandhi’

BritishAugust 29, 1923117 views

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was an Indian polymath and a social reformer

IndianSeptember 26, 1820210 views

Jyotiba Phule

Jyotiba Phule was a 19th century social reformer who was a pioneer of women’s education in India

IndianApril 11, 1827179 views

Ghanshyam Das Birla

Ghanshyam Das Birla was a prominent Indian businessman and a member of the well-known Birla family.

IndianApril 10, 1894162 views

Jet Li

Jet Li is a famous Chinese film actor who has acted in a number of Hollywood movies

SingaporeanApril 26, 1963129 views