Michael Bloomberg has once again claimed the top position on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the 50 largest donors in 2025. For the third year running, the former New York City mayor and founder of the Bloomberg financial-news empire has made a significant impact, donating $4.3 billion to a variety of causes, including arts, education, environmental initiatives, public health, and urban improvement programs.
Trailing Bloomberg on the Philanthropy 50 list are three other prominent donors, each contributing over $1 billion to charitable causes last year. Bill Gates, taking the second spot, donated $3.7 billion to the Gates Foundation. Meanwhile, the late Paul Allen, a former Microsoft executive like Gates, left a $3.1 billion bequest to establish a foundation focused on science and technology, earning him the third spot. Warren Buffett also made a notable contribution, donating $1.3 billion to support four family foundations with diverse philanthropic missions.
In total, the individuals on the Philanthropy 50 list collectively contributed $22.4 billion to various charitable organizations in 2025, with the median gift size being $105 million.
A significant portion of the wealth behind these donations originates from the financial sector, with 20 philanthropists from this industry giving a combined total of $4.1 billion. The technology sector, however, led the pack with 12 donors contributing an impressive $10 billion. The real estate industry also made its mark, with four donors collectively giving $466.7 million.
Geographically, the majority of these philanthropists reside in New York and California, and nonprofits in these states have been the primary beneficiaries of their generosity.
For many donors on this list, philanthropy holds deep personal significance. Among them are Jon and Mindy Gray, who rank 34th with donations totaling $63.6 million. Their philanthropic efforts focus on research into inherited cancers linked to BRCA mutations—a cause close to their hearts due to Mindy’s sister’s passing from BRCA-related ovarian cancer at the age of 44—and supporting youth empowerment in New York City. The Grays’ Gray Scholars program, which grants scholarships to 10 New York City students each year to attend historically Black colleges or universities, is a testament to their commitment. The Grays also take an active role in annual gatherings for all scholarship recipients.
“We’re very hands-on people — we enjoy it,” Mindy Gray says. “Other people often come to us and say, ‘I want to do something, but what should I do?’ And it really is what you feel in your heart. You should not be doing this work in areas that don’t move you.”
But few of the country’s wealthiest people are moved to give in the way that the Grays and other Philanthropy 50 donors do. Only 19 of the richest Americans on the Forbes 400 list donated enough to appear in this year’s rankings.
High-profile philanthropist MacKenzie Scott is not in the ranking, though she has donated some $26 billion to charities since 2020. It is likely that Scott made gifts to her donor-advised funds that would have earned her a spot in the ranking, but she and her representatives declined to provide information about how much money she is funneling to the grantmakers.
Long-term relationships yield big donations
Not all donors on the Chronicle’s list grab headlines for their giving. Some lesser-known philanthropists who landed on the Philanthropy 50 include:
— Robert and Karen Hale (No. 25): The Granite Telecommunications founder and his wife gave nearly $111 million last year to dozens of nonprofits they have supported for years. They gave a $100 million gift to Boston Children’s Hospital and the remainder to education, human-service, social-justice, and youth groups throughout the greater Boston area.
— James and Patricia Anderson (No. 39): The automotive consultant and his wife gave $50 million to Wayne State University, his alma mater, and more than $8 million to charities that serve the elderly and people with special needs.
— Melanie and Richard Lundquist (No. 42): The Los Angeles real estate investors are longtime donors to Southern California nonprofits, primarily backing health care and the city’s public schools. Along with a $50 million donation they gave Torrance Memorial Medical Center, they also donated $3 million to nonprofits that help cancer patients and young people.
Though these billionaires and millionaires give away huge sums, they give for many of the same reasons that everyday donors do. They are drawn to groups that seek their input, understand their passions, are open to collaboration, and have effective programs. Most important, they give to people and charities they have known and trusted for years, if not decades.
The Chronicle found that more than 35 of 51 donors on the list had long-term relationships, often lasting five to 10 years or more, with the charities to which they gave the most in 2025.
“It’s about building relationships,” says Jeff Schreifels, a fundraising consultant at Veritus Group, which works with both large and small charities. “It’s being that bridge between the donor and their desire to change the world and matching that up with everything that the nonprofit does. That’s what everyone is trying to do.”
Variety of causes
Foundations and donor-advised funds created by the donors and colleges and universities were the biggest recipients of last year’s gifts. But many donors also supported a diverse range of causes that included:
Science and technology, which received more than $3 billion, including Allen’s big bequest and a $60 million donation to support the quantitative science program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
Health care and medical research, which got a total of $1.5 billion, including a $500 million donation from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, for cancer research and treatment; a number of eight- and nine-figure gifts to back pediatric health care; and two gifts to support dementia research and care.
Athletics, which received a total of $871 million, including two donations of $300 million apiece for university athletics and a $100 million gift to provide financial aid to Olympic athletes.
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Maria Di Mento and Ben Gose are senior editors at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where you can read the full article. This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of a partnership to cover philanthropy and nonprofits supported by the Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for the content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
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