A third of America's biggest philanthropists are Jewish, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy's report for 2024. Leading the list of America's most philanthropic is former New York City mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.
Bloomberg, who donated over 1 million shekels to rebuild Israel's north and $44 million to the Magen David Adom health emergency service, continued to solidify his position at the top of the 50 biggest American philanthropists with donations totaling $3.7 billion, twice as much as the amount donated by the second billionaire named on the list, Netflix founder Wilmot Reed Hastings Jr. who with his wife, Patricia, donated close to $1.6 million in the past year.
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Sergey Brin, Michael Bloomberg, Mark Zuckerberg
(Photo: AP, Kena Betancur / AP, Kenny Holston / Reuters)
The former mayor also gave substantial donations to a list of causes, including his alma mater, John Hopkins University, to enable its medical school to provide free tuition to medical students and financial assistance to students studying nursing and public health.
“I’ve never understood people who wait until they die to give away their wealth. Why deny yourself the satisfaction?” Bloomberg wrote in an email to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. “I’ve been very lucky, and I’m determined to do what I can to open doors for others and to leave a better world for my children and grandchildren.”
Other Jewish philanthropists on the list are Michael Dell and his wife, who came in third after donating $1.4 billion; Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, who donated $1.1 million to educational programs, medical research and social reforms, earning them the 5th place on the list; Google founder Sergey Brin, who gave $205 million in donations, ranked 15; and Sheryl Sandberg, with donations of $125 million, ranked 23. Sandberg came out in support of Israeli women who were victims of Hamas sexual crimes during the Oct. 7 massacre. In all, a third of the most generous American philanthropists named were Jewish.
The top 50 philanthropists gave $16.2 billion in total in 2024. However, only 19 of the 400 richest Americans donated enough to be named on the list, indicating that, even in the United States, where philanthropy is cheered, most billionaires choose to keep their fortunes to themselves.
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Beyond the numbers and the famous names, the question still hovering over the world of philanthropy is how much do these donations change reality. Many critics claim that the influence of philanthropists on education and health provides them with political sway and allows them to control the public narrative. They cite Elon Musk as an example. After supporting the campaign of U.S. President Donald Trump, Musk was given unlimited access to almost all power centers in the federal government