Gallery: These are the world’s Top 10 business philanthropists of last 100 years

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Gallery: These are the world’s Top 10 business philanthropists of last 100 years

Total donations by Top 50 givers pegged at $832b, of which $503b came from foundations

Published: June 24, 2021 19:00 Nivetha Dayanand, Web Editor

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#1 Jamsetji Tata | $102.4 billion | Tata Sons | Indian industrialist Jamsetji Tata topped the philanthropist charts of the century by donating $102 billion, as per a list of Top 50 givers prepared by Hurun Report and EdelGive Foundation. “Setting aside two-thirds of ownership to welfare trusts engaged in doing good has helped Tatas achieve the top spot in giving,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher at Hurun. “Jamsetji Tata's giving started in 1892 itself.” Image Credit: Tata

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210504 Gates — #2 Bill and Melinda Gates | $74.6 billion | Microsoft | Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda have donated $74.6 billion so far. The couple established the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. It is one of the world's largest charitable organizations, with a focus on public health, education and climate change. Its most recent grants included $1.75 billion to vaccine initiatives, diagnostics and research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Image Credit: Reuters

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#3 Henry Wellcome | $56.7 billion | Wellcome | Henry Wellcome (1853-1936) was a pharmaceutical entrepreneur. In 1880, Silas Burroughs and Henry Wellcome, two pharmaceutical salesmen from America, started a new company in London called Burroughs, Wellcome & Co. They used to sell remedies and medicines throughout the UK. After his death, the Wellcome Trust was founded in 1936, to improve health by supporting scientific research and the study of medicine. Funding for this mission came from the profits of the pharmaceutical business he had built up over 50 years. Image Credit: Wellcome Trust

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#4 Howard Hughes | $38.6 billion | Hughes Aircraft | Howard Hughes was an entrepreneur who also enjoyed flying airplanes. After inheriting substantial wealth from his family's estate in 1923, Hughes embarked on a course to make his dreams of aviation come true. He became a successful businessman running several companies, including the airline TWA. He lent his expertise in the design of the Lockheed L-049 Constellation, which entered service as the C-69 military transport aircraft during World War II for the United States Army Air Forces. Image Credit: Instagram/howardhughesco

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Warren Buffet1-1612095098052 — #5 Warren Buffett | $37.4 billion | Berkshire Hathaway | Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, announced a new $4.1 billion donation to charity on Wednesday, while simultaneously announcing that he’s stepping down as an inactive trustee at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. On the whole, Buffett has given away more than $37.4 billion to philanthropic causes. Image Credit: Gulf News archives

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#6 George Soros | $34.8 billion | Soros Fund Management | George Soros has been a prominent international supporter of democratic ideals and causes for more than 30 years. His organization, the Open Society Foundations, supports democracy and human rights in more than 100 countries. Image Credit: Bloomberg

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#7 Hans Wilsdorf | $31.5 billion | Rolex | Hans Wilsdorf, the founder of Rolex, was not just a visionary entrepreneur whose stream of inventions, such as the first waterproof wristwatch, changed the world. Total donations by the 50 givers in the Hurun list are pegged at $832 billion over the last century, of which $503 billion came from foundation endowments Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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#8 JK Lilly Sr | $27.5 billion | Eli Lilly & Company | Lilly Endowment was formally established in 1937 with stock in Eli Lilly and Company. The pharmaceutical firm was founded in Indianapolis in 1876 by Eli Lilly, father of JK Lilly Sr. The first donations of 17,500 shares were originally valued at $262,500. Each of them contributed millions of dollars and real estate holdings to charitable organizations. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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#9 John D Rockefeller | $26.8 billion | Standard Oil Co | John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), founder of Standard Oil Company, became one of the world’s wealthiest men and a major philanthropist. Rockefeller donated more than half a billion dollars to various educational, religious and scientific causes through the Rockefeller Foundation. Among his activities, he funded the establishment of the University of Chicago and the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller University). Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Edsel Bryant Ford — #10 Edsel Ford | $26.7 billion | Ford Motor Company | In 1936, Edsel Ford—son of Henry, the founder of the Ford Motor Company—established the Ford Foundation with an initial gift of $25,000. The foundation was dedicated to the advancement of human welfare through reducing poverty and promoting democratic values, peace, and educational opportunity. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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