The wealthiest people in the United States donate billions of dollars toward climate initiatives, cures for disease and college endowments, according to Forbes.
But Forbes wanted to know how generous the ultra-rich really are. Its research found that the 400 richest Americans collectively have given more than $250 billion to charity, less than 6% of their combined net worth. So, not very, although some are much more generous than others.
The business magazine examined the 400 individuals’ charitable giving and assigned each one a philanthropy score, ranging from 1 to 5. Some who declined to provide details or for whom information about their giving could not be found received a score of N/A.
To calculate the scores, researchers added the value of each billionaire’s out-the-door lifetime giving estimate — rather than cash sitting in their private foundations or DAFs that may not have made it to those in need — to their 2023 Forbes 400 net worth. They then divided their lifetime giving by that sum.
Each score corresponds to a range of giving as a percentage of a person’s net worth. Two thirds of the billionaires on The Forbes 400 scored a 1 or 2, meaning they have given less than 5% of their fortune to charity.
See the accompanying gallery for the 11 Forbes 400 individuals scoring a 5, having given 20% or more to charity, per Forbes’ estimates.
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