There are some incredibly wealthy people out there who have used their fortunes to help to drastically improve the lives of individuals, whole communities and even entire countries. There are also those of modest means who have made much smaller financial gestures that have still made a massive difference to someone's life. These inspiring and heartwarming stories will restore your faith in humanity.

When she learned that a pregnant British fan of hers had been homeless for most of her pregnancy and that her partner had recently lost his job, popstar Taylor Swift invited her back stage after her performance in Manchester, England. When she got backstage, the fan (known only as Stephanie) was shocked to discover that Swift was giving her enough money to buy a house and all the things that she needed for her baby. Stephanie later tweeted an emotional message of thanks.

Swift has a history of helping her fans, and paid $5,000 (£3,840) to cover the costs of a fan's funeral after they died in a car crash.

In March 2017 Pastor Emmanuel Momoh miraculously discovered a huge 709 carat uncut diamond in the village of Koryardu in Sierra Leone. The stone was believed to be worth millions of dollars and the Pastor decided to sell it and use the proceeds to bring clean water, electricity, roads and medical facilities to his village. The stone sold for $6.5 million (£5.2m) to British jeweller Graff. Pastor Momoh's cause received 41% of the proceeds.

Earlier this year, British student Ella Johannessen was tearfully discussing her financial difficulties in a phone conversation while on a train to Leeds. She then fell asleep. When she woke up half an hour later she found a napkin on her lap with $126 (£100) underneath it. In a bid to thank the generous stranger, Johannessen posted a message on Facebook that has been shared over 15,000 times. But she is yet to find out who helped her. She has vowed to pass on this act of kindness.

In 2017, Fiona Asiedu, a student at England's prestigious Oxford University, set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise the $19,293 (£14k) she needed to study for a Masters at Harvard. A friend of hers then tweeted British grime star Stormzy asking if he could help her cause and he pledged an incredible $12,374 (£9k). Asiedu couldn't believe her luck and her friend is said to have tweeted Stormzy back offering to take him to Nando's to say thanks. His return tweet said 'Deal'!

Only a year later, Stormzy announced his scheme that would fund two black students who had places at Cambridge University in 2018, paying their tuition fees and a small maintenance grant. He will do the same for another two students in 2019. The rapper, who got six A*s at GCSE, was inspired by his own love of learning, and while his path didn't take him to university he wanted to help capable, black students to go to one of the UK's top universities.

Did Stormzy get inspiration from fellow rapper Nicki Minaj? In 2017 she told prospective college students via Twitter that if they could show her straights As that she could verify she would contribute to their tuition fees. She was inundated with requests that ranged from $100 (£72) to assist with book costs to $6,000 (£4,754) to cover classes and living expenses. After agreeing to honour a host of requests, Minaj closed the offer after a day, but said she would repeat it in the future.

When 90-year-old scotsman Grahame Pincock died in December 2017 his neighbours were shocked to discover that he had left millions that he'd secretly made from investing in companies such as AstraZeneca and Diageo to charity. The former teacher lived very modestly and no one had any idea that he had amassed a fortune reportedly worth $9.6 million (£7m) from investing in shares. His will states that his fortune should be used to battle ill health and distributed to related charitable causes.

When model Chrissy Teigen heard that Mercedes Edney from North Carolina had set up a crowdfunding page to raise $6,060 (£4,802) to help cover her tuition fees for aesthetician school, she stepped in and paid the remainder of what she needed to raise to pay the beauty school's fees, $5,605 (£4,441). Edney was overwhelmed by Teigen's generosity and later posted an image of her course receipt on Instagram, together with a gushing message of gratitude.

In 2015, 21-year-old college student Liz Kind found her dream wedding dress in a Utah bridal shop, but she couldn't afford the $480 (£380) price tag. Incredibly, however, another bride-to-be had given the store's owner enough money to purchase any dress in the room for a woman that was struggling to afford one. Kind was thrilled to discover that someone had gifted her the dress and decided to give her forthcoming wedding a 'pay it forward' theme.

Irish actor Colin Farrell got chatting to a homeless man, known as Stress, in Toronto in 2003. When a Canadian radio station offered $2,000 Canadian dollars ($1,497/£1,186) to anyone that could get Farrell along to their studio, Colin asked Stress to take him there, so the homeless man could benefit from the cash. The pair stayed in touch and Farrell met him a few years later, taking him on a shopping spree and renting a room for him for a year, helping Stress get his life back on track.

When actor Sandra Bullock heard the octogenarian former pool manager at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Sven Petersen, had become homeless living in his car and often going with out food, she reportedly sent $5,000 (£3,961) to a GoFundMe page set up to help him rent an apartment. In total Petersen is said to have received enough donations to cover a year's rent on a property.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. In 2017 he helped the village of Godolphin Cross in Cornwall, England to buy its Methodist chapel after receiving an email from the community asking if he could help their fundraising effort. The villagers needed to raise $89,700 (£71,068) to buy the chapel and were over the moon when the Sheikh donated enough money for them to make the purchase.

At 17, He Rongfeng was homeless. He was found begging in Chinese city Taizhou by local noodle shop owner Dai Xingfen. She took the boy and his two friends to her flat where she fed them and let them stay the night and then found them jobs. Years later Rongfeng became a successful businessman and he returned to repay Xingfen many times over, offering her $145,313 (£115,082). Xingfen refused the gift, so Rongfeng gave her a plaque that reads 'Gratitude as Heavy as a Mountain.'

Cash-strapped North Carolina single mum Connie Cole was in desperate need of a car to help her get to work. She called a used car dealer and a passerby who happened to be in the showroom at the time overheard the conversation, which was on speaker phone. The stranger told the dealer that he was going home to pray, and that if the lady came in to call him and he may buy her the car. In fact, that's exactly what happened, with Cole driving away in a car bought by a total stranger.

In 2015 popstar Cher heard that recently widowed 96-year-old Edith Hill was involved in a custody dispute over who should care for her and where she should live. Cher stepped in and promised to fix up and upgrade the lady's Virginia home so that she could live in it safely. Cher also generously offered to help pay Hill's medical expenses. Cher later went on to executive produce a documentary about Hill entitled Edith+Eddie.

In 2016 when CNN anchorman Anderson Cooper heard that a Norfolk police dog had been fatally shot in a standoff, he paid for the entire Norfolk Virginia police department's dog unit to be kitted out with ballistic vests at a cost of $2,200 (£1,743) a piece. This piece of kit would likely have saved the murdered dog's life.

Every year in Kansas City a real secret Santa hands out $100 (£79) bills. He concentrates on areas of the city where the homeless and poor tend to accumulate. The tradition was begun by Larry Stewart, who was once in dire circumstances and was helped by a kind stranger. He began the tradition of giving back when he became wealthy and when he died 11 years ago he asked a new 'Santa' to carry on the ritual. He has done so anonymously ever since.

Rebekkah Wallin had a difficult start in life and grew up in care. She excelled at school, however, and as a 10-year-old fifth grader she set her heart on studying at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. In her senior year at high school she gave a speech alluding to the fact that she couldn't afford her college wish and soon after she got a call from Baylor telling her that someone had agreed to pay for her schooling. She remains forever thankful to her mystery benefactor.

In 2012 actor Woody Harrelson reportedly shocked a homeless woman in New York. As he was leaving a party in the city the woman approached him and asked if he could help her out with some money. Expecting nothing but small change she was blown away when he handed her $600 (£475) in cash. 

Check out these Generous stars who've donated their stuff to good causes

In December 2017 Texas Rangers' Major League baseball pitcher Cole Hamels and his wife Heidi gifted their 32,000-square-foot home set in 100 acres of land in Table Rock Lake, Missouri to Camp Barnabas. Camp Barnabas is a non-profit charitable organisation that provides life-changing experiences to people with special needs and chronic illnesses and their siblings. The charity is looking forward to using the house to develop its offering further.

In 2017 an anonymous donor is reported to have paid off the layaway bills of 200 families at a Walmart store in Pennsylvania. The benefactor's bill for helping the struggling families is said to have amounted to $40,000 (£31,689). It was the second year running that the mystery donor, who has been given the nickname Santa by the store, has made a payoff on a similar scale.

Read about The Waltons: the family story behind Walmart's staggering success

It was announced in August 2017 that Chance the Rapper has donated an incredible $1 million (£792,227) to the Chicago Public Schools' system to support its arts and enrichments programmes. As a graduate of the Chicago Public School system himself, Chance was keen to give something back. He has also given substantial sums to combat gun violence in his home town. 

These are the 30 most generous Americans of all time

For the last few years a local Dayton, Ohio couple have reportedly given $500 (£396) to the Montgomery County Environmental Services in Ohio to help pay off the water and sewage bills of struggling families. In 2016 a single mum with young children was chosen to benefit from the gift. She was overwhelmed when she heard the news. Another lady who was undergoing chemotherapy also benefited from the donation.

While in a Californian jewellery store back in 2004 actor Paul Walker is reported to have secretly bought an Iraq war veteran a $9,000 (£7,130) engagement ring for his fiancee, after hearing the couple state that the ring was way out of their budget. A store employee only revealed the secret after the actor was tragically killed in a car crash in 2013.

After his death in December 2016 tales of singer George Michael's kindness and philanthropy began to emerge on Twitter and in the news.  One of these acts of giving was when he watched an episode of British TV quiz show Deal or No Deal where a woman was hoping to raise money for IVF treatment. The star was watching the show, and after she failed to win the £15,000 ($18,931) she needed, called up and gave her the money.

Discover the 50 Christmas presents that are now worth a fortune

Another one of his secret acts of giving is when he tipped a barmaid £5,000 ($6,310) when he found out that she was a student nurse in debt. He also gave huge amounts to charity, including £50,000 ($63,100) to Sport Relief when British comedian David Walliams swam the English Channel, and millions of pounds to children's charity, Childline.

These stars aren't the only generous ones, discover The celebrities who give away their millions