- America's 10 wealthiest people gave an average of 0.94% of their net worths to charity in 2018, according to a new analysis of the charitable contributions of America's wealthiest people by UC Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman.
- Of all the multibillionaires on this list, only Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Michael Bloomberg gave more than 1% of their net worths to charity in 2018.
- Three of America's richest billionaires gave 0.0% of their net worths to charity in 2018.
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Billionaires aren't as generous as they may let on, a new analysis of the charitable contribution of America's wealthiest people by UC Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman reveals.
America's 10 wealthiest people gave an average of 0.94% of their net worths to charity in 2018, according to Zucman. To compile the ranking, Zucman used data from the Forbes 400 and the magazine's America's Top 50 Givers lists in 2018.
Of all the multibillionaires on this list, only Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Michael Bloomberg gave more than 1% of their net worths to charity in 2018. Some of the low figures can be explained by the "lumpy" nature of charitable giving, according to Vox's Dylan Matthews - billionaires often make large lump-sum gifts, with other, smaller donations in between.
Google cofounder Sergey Brin for example, gave 0.0% of his net worth to charity in 2018 according to Zucman's analysis, but gave $2.2 billion between 2000 and 2017 according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Several of the billionaires on this list, including Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates, have also signed onto the Giving Pledge, promising that they will give away the majority of their fortunes before or after they die.
Keep reading to learn how much money the richest men in America gave to charity in 2018, arranged in order of increasing total net worths as of 2018.
All figures are sourced from the 2018 editions of the Forbes 400 and America's Top 50 Givers lists.