Think billionaires don't share their wealth? Think again. From social media magnates to tech titans, here are some of the most generous people on the planet and the causes they donate their money to.

The founder of Oracle Corporation donated $200 million (£156.6m) in 2016 to the University of Southern California to create a cancer treatment centre. In addition to his contributions to medical science, he has also pledged money to combating oceanic degradation, as well as wildlife causes, and in 2010 he signed the Giving Pledge with a statement that he plans to give away 95% of his wealth over time.

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As vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway for the past four decades, Charlie Munger (pictured left) is Warren Buffet’s investment partner and right-hand man, who also shares his philanthropic ideals. In 2013, Munger pledged more than $100 million (£78.3m) for new graduate residences at the University of Michigan. In 2016, the billionaire also gave away $200 million (£156.6m) to the University of California at Santa Barbara for state-of-the art student dorms. 

Mark Zuckerberg is arguably the most famous billionaire in the world. With over a billion users and almost endless streams of advertising revenue, Facebook shows no sign of slowing down. However, Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan have pledged to give 99% of their Facebook stock away. In 2016, the couple pledged to invest at least $3 billion (£2.3bn) over the next decade through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative towards preventing, curing or managing all diseases by the end of the century. 

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John Arnold shocked the hedge fund world when he retired at just 38 years old. Upon his retirement, John and his wife Laura pledged to give away most of their fortune through the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, their philanthropic organization, which aims to improve the lives of individuals by strengthening social, governmental, and economic systems. The pair have already given away more than $1.2 billion (£939.5m) to charity, and plan to give out billions more.

eBay founder Pierre Omidyar became a billionaire in 1998 when the company went public, and soon developed a philanthropic interest. In 2001, Pierre pledged to give away most of his fortune and he and his wife have since donated over $1 billion (£782.9m) to charity. But they still have a long way to go. This might be why they have planned to donate approximately $500,000 (£391k) to fund a project called GiveDirectly, which will make cash transfers to more than 26,000 people living in Kenya.

Musk is one of the world’s most revered tech entrepreneurs and his companies have produced a number of innovations. The SpaceX founder wants to put his wealth to good use by sending a manned mission to Mars by as early as 2023. Musk believes Earth will die without interplanetary exploration and is interested in giving a lot of his time, and money, to facilitate a mission to the red planet. The Tesla-founder has also signed the Giving Pledge.

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Zara founder Ortega (pictured left) is the world’s fifth richest man and is known for his simple lifestyle and even simpler wardrobe. He is also the creator of a foundation which promotes education and social causes, and made significant financial contributions to the fields of science, culture and welfare. As of March 2017, Ortega banked another $1.2 billion (£939.5m) after his company Inditex – which owns Zara and other brands – reported record sales and profits. Now that's a nice windfall!

Carlos Slim Helu is not a signatory to The Giving Pledge, believing that the way to defeat poverty is to create jobs. The Mexican billionaire behind Latin America's biggest mobile telecom firm, America Movil, has a foundation promoting education and social opportunities in his native country to “equip Mexican society with the necessary tools to succeed professionally and socially".

The list of Branson’s causes is nearly as long as his hair. He has promised to donate all profits from his travel firms to combat global warming, and has made huge contributions towards fighting HIV and AIDS (particularly in Africa). More recently, his is a founding member of The Elders, a group of high-profile individuals who work to end global conflicts.

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The former New York mayor not only gives a huge amount of money to charity, but is also a committed activist, particularly when it comes to the environment. In 2011, he donated $48.3 million (£37.8m) to the Beyond Coal campaign. In 2016, he gave $600 million (£469.7m) to sectors including arts, education, environment and public-health groups. In 2018 he also gave $1.8 billion (£1.4bn) to his alma mater John Hopkins in order to provide financial aid and to make admissions "need blind".

Along with his wife, Bill Gates is arguably the world’s most important philanthropist. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation focuses primarily on improving healthcare provision and reducing poverty, while in the US it aims to improve access to education and technology. He’s also a man of his word, having donated over $50 billion (£39bn) to the foundation to date, and gave away $4.6 billion (£3.6bn) worth of Microsoft shares in 2017 alone. 

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The Star Wars franchise has made George Lucas a lot of money. The director sold it to the Walt Disney Company in 2012, reportedly for $3.9 billion (£3.1bn) and has promised to give majority of the proceeds to charity. His George Lucas Educational Foundation aims to reform and improve education. Lucas claims he was curious but bored at school and believes that, with reform, the education system in the US can help more children thrive. He has also signed the Giving Pledge.

Another director who has done much to improve the world, Steven Spielberg ironically avoids publicity for his philanthropy, often donating anonymously. He has been involved in many Jewish causes such as the Shoah Foundation, but is also interested in causes related to science, animal welfare and the arts. He is also the co-founder of Starbright, which aims to improve the lives of sick children through educational but entertaining tech-based programs.

The talk show host has given away roughly $386.2 million (£302.4m) to educational causes alone, as well as making huge donations to various museums. Perhaps more importantly, her profile is widely recognized in helping to raise funds for various causes and in the wake of crises. After Hurricane Katrina, she opened a registry which raised over $10.6 million (£8.3m), and made a personal donation of $9.6 million (£7.5m). 

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You might not have heard of Michael Otto as the German billionaire tries to keep a low profile, which is not easy when you own the world’s largest mail order company, Otto Group. Like Bloomberg, Otto is a keen environmentalist. As well as producing environmentally-friendly goods, he is a key figure in promoting discussions between the world’s biggest businesses on environmental issues.

J K Rowling's giving has meant that the first ever billionaire author is no longer a billionaire. Having experienced poverty as a single mum when she was first writing her Harry Potter series, Rowling understands how difficult life can be and is a committed philanthropist. In 2011, just as she joined the billionaire club she gave away 16% of her net worth, around $160 million (£125m). Rowling has since given money to research for Multiple Sclerosis, and set up her own charitable trust, Volant.

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Hong Kong’s wealthiest businessman is pretty generous when it comes to taking out his wallet, and is committed to promoting educational causes. He has made huge contributions to institutions including the University of Toronto and the University of Calgary, and has his own foundation, which to date has given $2.56 billion (£2bn) to projects focused on education, healthcare and social projects, 80% of which are in the Greater China region.

Google co-founder Brin has a simple plan: “In terms of being remembered, I think I want to make the world a better place.” Easier said than done, but he’s well on the way, with contributions to various causes including space exploration and anti-poverty. He is one of the largest supporters of the Michael J Fox Foundation, which aims to combat Parkinson’s Disease, an illness Brin’s mother suffers from. In 2004 Brin created The Brin Wojcicki Foundation with his now ex-wife Anne Wojcicki.

Fellow Google co-founder Page takes a slightly different tack to his colleague. Like Carlos Slim Helu, he claims that he eschews donations (generally), claiming in a TED talk that he preferred to give to entrepreneurs. That didn't stop him giving $177.3 million (£138.6m) in stock to charity in 2014. He’s a keen supporter of Musk’s Mars drive to “back up humanity”, and advocates a four-day working week, which he believes will aid productivity and counterbalance jobs lost to technology.

In the summer of 2016 alone, Warren Buffett gave almost $2.8 billion (£2.2bn) to charity. A key signatory of The Giving Pledge, which asks billionaires to give away the majority of their wealth during their lifetimes, he donated $2.1 billion-worth (£1.6bn) of shares to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and pledged $482.4 million (£377.7m) to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, which works to prevent nuclear attacks. Buffett has given away more than $46 billion (£36bn) since 2000, 71% of his fortune.

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Ted Turner is one of the world’s most socially-conscious billionaires. He created the UN Foundation in 1991 to help support the work of UN causes around the world and is the founder of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Readers of a certain age might also remember the television series Captain Planet. That was Ted's work, and the reason? To foster a sense of environmentalism at a young age. Alongside this, Turner has given more than $350 million (£273.8m) to environmental causes since 1990.

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The Polo Ralph Lauren Foundation supports underprivileged communities, education and cancer care. The foundation has partnered with many other philanthropic organisations such as Habitat for Humanity, which builds affordable homes, and the American Heroes Fund, which raises scholarship funds for children of the victims of the 9/11 attacks.

Nike founder Phil Knight has taken his brand's 'just do it' slogan to heart by pledging to give away most of his wealth during his lifetime. His financial contributions to charity are numerous and include athletic causes (of course), medical facilities and, most recently, a $386.2 million (£313m) pledge to Stanford University. That’s a tick from us, Phil.

You’re sure to be familiar with Dell's computers, but what you might not know is that, along with wife Susan, Michael set up a foundation in 1999 focused on underprivileged children. It awards more than $96.2 million (£75.3m) annually, with a particular focus on health, family economic stability and urban education.

Before he passed away in October 2018, Microsoft co-founder Allen was the founder of the Allen Institute for Brain Science, Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Institute for Cell Science and Vulcan Aerospace, all of which aim to improve human life or our understanding of it in some way. He also intervened in various crises during his lifetime, pledging $96.2 million (£75.3m) to fight the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

The staunchly anti-drugs H&M founder Stefan Persson (pictured right) famously had model Kate Moss sacked from one of the company's ad campaigns when she was caught using illegal substances. He is the founder of the Mentor Foundation, a non-profit organisation which aims to combat substance abuse among young people. It now operates in 28 countries around the world.

Being patronised isn’t always as bad as it sounds. In fact, in the past, the only way talented artists could work was through funding from a wealthy patron (hence the word). French business magnate and LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault (pictured right) has continued this tradition by helping to found the Louis Vuitton Foundation, a museum and cultural centre in Paris.

Real estate, movie theatres, Spain’s pluckiest soccer team? Wang Jianlin owns (or part owns) them all, but still finds time for charitable causes. His work tends to focus on restoration over space exploration, and he has helped redevelop ancient sites in China as well as the Electric Fountain in Beverly Hills.

Music mogul David Geffen has committed a great deal of time and money into improving healthcare around the world. His donations of around $290 million (£227m) to the School of Medicine at UCLA led to it being renamed in his honour, while he has also been a huge patron of the arts, LGBT causes and organisations that fight AIDS.

The Indian billionaire who founded software services company Wipro Ltd, Azim Premji says being rich doesn’t “thrill” him. So it’s just as well he gives so much of it away. A signatory of The Giving Pledge, he also founded the Azim Premji Foundation, which promotes universal education. In 2014, he set up the Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives to focus on street children and the disabled. This year he merged his investment business with his charitable trusts, underlining his commitment to philanthropy.

Youth is what food and drink mogul Jorge Paulo Lemann’s foundation Estudar focuses on. In his native Brazil (where educational opportunities differ vastly between social groups), the foundation is committed to closing the gap by increasing the number of teachers in the country and developing a strong sense of leadership in education.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich (pictured left) is known to many as owner of Chelsea FC. He is also a noted philanthropist in his homeland, even if disputes with its president keep him far away. He has contributed heavily to various charitable projects and has a particular interest in orphanages, having grown up in many as a child.

 

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Laurene Powell Jobs (pictured right) is well known for her philanthropy, which began with her co-foundation of College Track in 1997, a non-profit based in East Palo Alto aimed at improving education opportunities for “underserved” students. In 2015, she launched XQ, an initiative to boost America’s underfunded public high school system, and continues to support many of the causes patronised by her late husband, Steve Jobs.

Rockefeller Snr's grandfather John D Rockefeller is credited as one of the first proponents of modern philanthropy in America, a tradition David continues to honour. He is a signatory of The Giving Pledge and, as patriarch of the Rockefeller family, has been active in encouraging fellow family members to work for their various foundations, which range from the arts to a global development programme aimed at fostering good relations between Muslim and Western nations.

Another kind-hearted hedge fund manager, James Simons (pictured right) has long had his eye on the importance of philanthropy. In 2016, he had an asteroid named after him in honour of his contributions to both mathematics (he founded Math for America) and philanthropy. His fields of charitable interest are nearly as big as his IQ, and take in autism research, genome projects, and ecological initiatives focused on the world’s oceans. In 2015, he gave $298 million (£233m) to maths and science education.

Africa’s richest person declared in 2015 that he wanted to also be known as its “biggest philanthropist”. He wasn’t kidding. His Dangote Foundation has founded many social enterprises as well as a business school, and has helped flood relief efforts in Pakistan and Nigeria.

Hedge fund managers rarely get good press, but Ray Dalio deserves credit for his efforts to improve the world. The Dalio Foundation gave away $119 million (£93.1m) in 2014 alone. Its beneficiaries are multi-faceted, from mental health to meditation and orphanages in China, suggesting a wide range of causes close to Dalio’s heart.

A longstanding advocate of progressive and liberal causes, George Soros’ support of social progress began in the 1970s when he helped support black students financially in Apartheid South Africa. He also founded Open Society Institute, now Open Society Foundations, which promotes, among other things, a free media, and has since donated as much as 80% of his wealth – $18 billion (£14.1bn) – to it. He is also credited with helping communist countries transition to capitalism in the early 1990s.

“I’m quite old now. My life is ending, and before I die I have to do something,” Tadashi Yanai has been quoted as saying. A bit modest, given that he owns the fourth biggest clothing-retail company in the world. Japan’s richest businessman contributed ¥1 billion ($880.9million/£689m) to the relief efforts after the Sendai earthquake, but has also invested heavily in aid, training and clothing initiatives.

The former CEO of LEGO (pictured, centre) is a key member of the Lego Foundation, which promotes learning through, yup you guessed it, play. Connected with Ashoka, the world’s largest network of social entrepreneurs, it has helped create programmes which are fun and educational. Various initiatives have been launched in countries such as Ukraine, South Africa, and LEGO’s native Denmark.

Ireland’s richest native-born person is a close friend of the Clintons (something Donald Trump was not happy about), and is known for his social conscience. He founded the Iris O’Brien Foundation which helps disadvantaged communities in his native land. Moreover, the foundation aims to foster social entrepreneurship and provides support programs to talented individuals and companies. 

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