Bezos, Bloomberg among top 50 US charity donors

AS the world grappled with COVID-19, a recession and a racial reckoning, the ultrawealthy gave to a broader set of causes than ever before

bestowing multimilliondollar gifts on food pantries, historically Black colleges and universities and organizations that serve the poor and the homeless, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual rankings of the 50 Americans who gave the most to charity last year.

Another cause that got outsize attention from billionaire philanthropists: Climate change. Jeff Bezos topped the list by donating

10 billion to launch the Bezos Earth Fund. Bezos, who last week announced he was stepping down as Amazon CEO to devote more time to philanthropy and other projects, also contributed 100 million to Feeding America, the organization that supplies more than 200 food banks.

No. 2 on the list was Bezos’s ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, who gave 5. billion in 2020 by asking community leaders to help identify 512 organizations for seven- and eight-figure gifts, including food banks, human-service organizations, and racialjustice charities.

Another donor who gave big to pandemic causes and racial-justice efforts was Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, who ranked No. 5. He put 1.1 billion into a fund that by year’s end had distributed at least 0 million to more than 100 nonprofits.

The financier Charles Schwab and his wife, Helen (No. 24), gave 65 million to address homelessness in San Francisco. Net ix cofounder Reed Hastings and wife, Patty Quillin (No. 14), gave 120 million for financial aid for students at historically Black colleges and universities. Michael Jordan, the basketball great (No. 1), pledged 50 million to racial and social-justice groups.

“When I look at the events of the last year, there was an awakening for the philanthropic sector,” says Nick Tedesco, president of the National Center for Family Philanthropy. “Donors supported community-led efforts of recovery and resiliency, particularly those led by people of color.”

Giving experts say they think the trend toward broader giving is likely to persist.

“I don’t think this approach is just a 12-month moment that started with COVID and continued following George Floyd and is going to recede,” says Melissa Berman, president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which counsels donors around the world. “There has been change building among private donors.”

All told, the 50 biggest donors contributed 24. billion in 2020, compared with 15. billion in 2019. Still, those gifts come from a small share of the billionaire class. Only 2 of the people on the Forbes 400 gave enough to qualify for the list. Many of the multimilliondollar donations came from people far less wealthy, like Gordon Rausser, a former dean of natural resources at the University of California at Berkeley.

The Chronicle’s rankings are based on the total amount philanthropists awarded in 2020. The information is based on extensive research with donors, their beneficiaries, and public records.

The No. donor was Michael Bloomberg, who contributed 1.6 billion to arts, education, public health, and many other causes. Nike founder Phil and Penelope Knight were next, donating

1.4 billion, 900. million of it to their Knight Foundation.