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March 08, 2024 at 04:30 PM
In 2023, America’s biggest donors gave $11.9 billion to their favorite causes, down by 27.8% from the previous year, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Philanthropy 50, released this week.
Only 23 families, individuals and couples on the 2023 Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans made it onto this year’s Philanthropy 50. That doesn’t necessarily mean that some of the country’s wealthiest people are not big givers.
The Chronicle noted that some billionaires regularly fail to make the Philanthropy 50 because, despite giving very large amounts, they do not make gifts every year. Others give anonymously or decline to publicize their charitable giving or disclose details about it to the Chronicle — and are not legally required to do so.
Consider MacKenzie Scott, perhaps the most notable absence on the Philanthropy 50 list. The Chronicle said that she may have made gifts to her donor-advised fund that could have earned her a spot on this year’s list, but she and her representatives declined to provide the Chronicle with such information.
The Chronicle reported that Scott gave more than $2.1 billion to charities in 2023 through her Yield Giving fund, but she will not provide details about how much money she is funneling into the grant maker.
The new list of America’s biggest donors is based on gifts and pledges of cash, stock and land in 2023 to organizations with charity or foundation status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The Chronicle talked to numerous charities, philanthropists and their representatives to learn more about large donations that were made publicly last year, as well as the philanthropy of major donors who gave quietly.
Researchers counted gifts made to donors’ family foundations and donor-advised funds but did not include disbursements from those grant-making vehicles in the rankings in order to avoid double-counting.
See the accompanying gallery for the Philanthropy 50’s top 15 donors in 2023.
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