Steve MartinTop 10 Most Generous U.S. Donors: 2015
Tech world philanthropists star on The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s yearly list
Eleven of the top 50 donors are from the tech industry.
The biggest American philanthropists increased their donations by 27.5% in 2014, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 15th annual Philanthropy 50 list of America’s most generous donors.
Mega-gifts by technology entrepreneurs drove this increase, The Chronicle reported. Twelve donors on the list came from the technology world, and their giving was outsize compared with that of people in other industries, The Chronicle found.
It represented 47% of the $9.8 billion in donations made by the Philanthropy 50 in 2014.The report said giving by Philanthropy 50 donors who amassed their fortunes in technology had increased by more than 1,000% over the past five years, whereas 2014 donations from people who made money in finance had dropped to near 2012 levels.