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Happy New Year Everyone!
In these dark times there are many people doing good work, yet many of our Honours do not reflect that. Where are the Nobel Prizes for people like Jane Goodall, David Attenborough or Greta Thunberg, who have brought far more light into the world than many recipients of some of our awards?
To remedy that situation I have begun making a list and I will start off by mentioning some of the more famous names which have made the headlines for their generosity in recent months. In Part II I want to acknowledge those who have consistently supported good causes over long periods and lastly, some of those whom we don’t hear much about, but who still make the world go round in small ways and large. This list is in no way comprehensive or in any particular order, but rather in the order in which I heard about them.
Great Entertainers
· Don't you love entertainers who not delight us with their performances but use their talent, wealth and fame to help others.
- Let's start off with popular youth entertainer Billie Eilish, who came to notice in October, not only for donating $11.5 m from her concert tour to people having to rely on food charities, due to the recent withdrawal of benefits and job losses in the USA, but also for calling out billionaires in her audience, such as Mark Zuckerberg, for not doing more of the same with their money. Eilish also donates to other causes such environmental and social justice organisations.
- Music legend Bruce Springsteen is also reputed to have donated his entire $12.9m bonus earnings from his recent tour to homeless centres and related services. Springsteen has a long-standing reputation for supporting causes related to homelessness and poverty, especially in his home state of New Jersey.
- Actor/ Comedian Ricky Gervais,who has already donated substantially to animal welfare, donated a further $2.43 million from his “Mortality” tour to 22 Animal Welfare charities.
- In September 2025, Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo collaborated on a play” This is Crazy” that raised funds for mental health awareness. Beyond the stage, Fonda has continued to be an outspoken critic of corporate mergers in the media and entertainment industry and a vocal advocate against wealth inequality. Ruffalo, meanwhile, has remained deeply engaged in climate activism and broader social justice issues, using his platform to spotlight environmental dangers and systemic disadvantage.
The devastating LA wildfires in January 2025
brought a tremendous outpouring of support form from stars, studios, media companies and others. Big-name celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, The
Eagles, Metallica, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eva Longaria, Paris Hilton and The Weeknd stepped up, along with major studios like Netflix,
DreamWorks, Disney, Universal and Paramount.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle provided sparkle and monetary and
material aid as well as supporting
animal welfare organisations, the LA Fire department and World Central Kitchen.
Tech giants YouTube, Amazon, and Google also pitched in, and businesses such as The Wonderful Company, Walmart
and Target gave millions. Twelve LA sports teams came together to donate over
$8 million, and yes—even billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg put
their hands in their pockets to help out.
Billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie pledged $15m in Emergency funding and together others including Live Nation, put on the Fire Aid Concert. Another billionaire Jared Isaacman donated another million.
One of the more original contributions was by San Bernadino Band, Fuerza Regida which rented an entire hotel to house 50 displaced families. Air B & B also helped out with temporary accommodation. You can read more here.
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
pledged approximately $1 million to wildfire relief funds during the same
crisis.
- Prominent Japanese Musician Yoshiki and his Yoshiki Foundation America —contributed not only to US wildfire relief but also supported international flood and fire victims with additional six-figure gifts. His other philanthropic work included bushfire victims in Australia, as well as victims of more recent events such as the Hong Kong fire, earthquakes in Taiwan and Japan and flood victims in Thailand and Indonesia.
ss Many Artists also came together for the LA FireAid Concert and also for the Peace One Day Global Digital Event held at Wembley Stadium on September the 21.st According to Peace Ambassador Dave Stewart, “In 2025, more wars are raging than at any time since the Second World War. Violent conflict has increased by 65% since 2021, and over two billion people are currently living in areas affected by conflict.”
S Smaller in scale perhaps, but still making a big difference within their communities and bringing joy in the holidays is the donation of 500 bikes to the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem by Todd Graves (entrepreneur) and Peter Billingsley (actor) . This is the 6th year in a row that the duo has put on their nationwide Christmas show. For many more wonderful initiatives by celebs see the Entertainment Online article here.
T The Good Billionaires and other Notable Contributions this year
It It's nice to know that many of those who can, do.
- MacKenzie
Scott — Ex wife of Jeff Bezos is doing a fantastic job redistributing
wealth. prolific donor who has given billions through unrestricted grants;
recently she gave $60 million to the Center for Disaster
Philanthropy to strengthen disaster preparedness and recovery and last
year donated $640 million part of her broader giving across climate,
racial equity, and community-based groups.This brings her total giving since 2019 to to $26.3 billion.
- Jackie & Mike Bezos — Jackie Bezos who passed away in August, was the mother of Jeff Bezos and his stepfather have pledged $500 million to UNICEF USA’s Child Nutrition Fund, supporting nutrition access for women and children.
- Uh Phil
Knight & Penny Knight — The Nike co-founder and his wife pledged $2
billion to Oregon Health & Science University to support
cancer research and patient care — one of the largest charitable gifts of
2025, but follows on previous donations.
- Warren Buffett — Donated over $1.3 billion across several foundations focused on reproductive health, education, and other priorities.
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