Looking back on the philanthropic efforts of well-heeled donors over the past twelve months, it turns out that 2016 was a big year for charity. The number big gifts last year far outshone those of 2015.
By “big gifts” I mean megagifts, or charitable donations of more than $100 million. According to a recent report on publicly announced giving compiled by The Chronicle of Philanthropy – an organization that publishes news and resources on philanthropy – there were twelve donations given by wealthy donors that surpassed $100 million, plus another six that totaled $100 million exactly.
The two largest donations – for $500 million each – came from Nike cofounder Phil Knight and his wife Penny, and investor-philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen.
Knight, a billionaire whose net worth Forbes estimates at $24.9 billion (making him the 18th wealthiest person in the United States), made his high-value gift to the University of Oregon – his alma mater – to establish there a new center for scientific research. Berggruen, with an estimate worth of $1.73 billion, donated to his own public policy think-tank, the Berggruen Institute.
The second most valuable donation, a $400 million pledge, was also made by Mr. and Mrs. Knight. This trove of charity went to Stanford University to establish the Knight-Hennessy Scholars Program, which provides education to 100 graduate high achieving students every year.
Also providing a $400 million gift to a good cause was physician Howard Marcus and wife Lottie, an investor, who directed their money in the form of a bequest to American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev for endowment and water research. The donation was the largest ever to an Israeli university.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a large charitable impact in 2016 too. The billionaire’s philanthropic organization gave $360 million to handful of organizations, including Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, CDC Foundation, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, World Health Organization, and Vital Strategies, for global anti-tobacco efforts.
Bloomberg also made another $300 million donation to The Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, to establish the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.
Steven Cohen and wife Alexandra pledged $275 million last year to start the Cohen Veterans Network to provide mental-health services to former service members and their families. Cohen, whose net worth FORBES estimates at $13 billion, built his wealth in hedge funds.
Facebook founding president, Sean Parker, makes an appearance on the list of top donors of 2016, with a $250 million gift to establish the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.
Oracle founder, Larry Ellison, made the list as well, pledging $200 million to the University of Southern California, to establish the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine.
Legendary investor and Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger pledged $200 million to the University of California at Santa Barbara, for new student housing.
Sanford Weill, chairman emeritus of Citigroup, and his wife, Joan, donated $185 million to the University of California at San Francisco, to start the Weill Institute for Neurosciences.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg donated $107.2 million to the Fidelity Charitable, for the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Fund.
Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen pledged $100 million to establish the Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group.
Billionaire Phillip Frost, a physician and pharmaceutical company executive, and his wife, Patricia, pledged $100 million to the University of Miami, to support applied sciences and engineering.
David Geffen, a cofounder of DreamWorks Studios SKG and founder of Geffen Records, pledged $100 million to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, to renovate and expand the museum.
Netflix founder, Reed Hastings, gave $100 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, to establish the Hastings Fund.
Robert King, founder of Peninsula Capital, and his wife, Dorothy, pledged $100 million to Stanford University, for scholarships for students from underdeveloped countries.
Mortimer Zuckerman, a cofounder of Boston Properties, a real-estate investment trust, donated $100 million to create the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Scholars Program in STEM Leadership to bolster collaboration between top U.S. and Israeli researchers.
