Wealthy Donors

As you know, capital campaigns rely on very big gifts for their success. In most campaigns, 10 big gifts account for more than 50 percent of the campaign goal. So to have a successful capital campaign, you’ve got to be able get some very big gifts from a few wealthy donors...

Three of America’s most discreet billionaire philanthropists have emerged as the biggest donors to the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund after the IRS accidentally revealed their identities. A filing shows that former Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer poured $1.9 billion into the fund. Trusts linked to Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Steve Jobs with significant stakes…

Oprah is "joining forces" with George and Amal Clooney. So are Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. After the Hollywood power couple announced Tuesday they will be marching and donating in support of student survivors of the Parkland, Fla. shooting rampage, Oprah, Spielberg and Katzenberg said they would match their contribution. In a statement from George Clooney provided to USA…

Bill and Melinda Gates, as the world’s top philanthropists, are rethinking their work in America as they confront what they consider their unsatisfactory track record on schools, the country’s growing inequity and a president they disagree with more than any other. In an interview with the Associated Press, the couple said they’re concerned about President…

Legendary investor William H. "Bill" Miller III has committed a record $75 million to the Johns Hopkins University Department of Philosophy to broaden and intensify faculty research, graduate student support and undergraduate study of philosophical thought. The gift is believed to be by far the largest ever to a university philosophy program. It is also…

Jeffrey P. Bezos, founder of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, announced that he is donating $33 million to a scholarship fund for young “dreamers,” immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The donation from the world’s wealthiest person comes amid fresh pressure from business leaders as talks on Capitol Hill over how…

A recent blog we wrote titled, “Why the Rich are Greedy (and What to Do About It),” garnered some interesting responses from readers. The blog cites research documenting that wealthy people give a smaller percentage of their discretionary income to charity when compared with less well-off individuals. It also mentions the body of psychological research that suggests that affluence tends to make people less sensitive to the needs of others and why…

Who is more likely to help out someone in need: a poor person or someone who is rich? We are inclined to think that the wealthier you are, the more you are able to reach out to others, so you will do so. If you already have enough (house, job, vacation time, etc.), the easier it will be to think about what others need...

There are a number of charities out there that tend to target high-net worth philanthropists, and these philanthropists have the opportunity to play a big role due to the fact that they willingly give in large amounts...

Cole Hamels and his wife Heidi are donating more than money to charity this year. The couple donated a mansion and 100 acres of land in southwest Missouri to Camp Barnabas, a charity that provides camps for children with special needs and chronic illnesses. Hamels and his wife donated the 32,000-square-foot home to Camp Barnabas…