Long Term Philanthropy by Celebrities
While many celebrities made headlines for their generosity this year, many others just keep contributing over the long haul. They are the 'elephants' who carry the weight of the world upon their shoulders, not once or twice, but over a long period. If you think the world is a mess now, imagine what it would look like without their continued efforts. Leonardo Di Caprio is one of those who contributes immensely to the protection of the world's rainforests. Bill Gates has done so for a long time with respect to health.
There is a terrific line -up of stars doing all kinds of good work at this celebrity giving site, though I am not sure how up to date it is. See for example, George Clooney with 37 charities, Paul McCartney with 45, Lady Gaga – 76 charities, Annie Lennox of Eurythmics -86 charities, Bono – 43 charities, and if we are talking numbers, the winner might well be Sting with 158 charities, though some may be investing in fewer, but in a more intense way. Bill Clinton supports 66 charities.
·
Country and Western singer, Dolly Parton has to be one of my all-time favourites – humble, generous and a great entertainer as well. Although she has in fact received many accolades, this year marks the 30th Anniversary of her Imagination Library (March 2025), which has been giving books to 270 million children from birth to five across 5 countries – the USA, UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia.
She also supports further education for all of her employees and contributes to many causes including animal welfare and medical research as well as supporting 900 families with $1000 per month for six months after the Great Smoky Mountains fires of 2016 and those affected by Hurricane Helene last year.
· Roger Waters has a long history of supporting veterans and humanitarian causes. As a founding member of Pink Floyd, he has consistently used his platform to advocate for peace, social justice, human rights and causes such as poverty relief and global justice. Typical of the 10 major charities he supports or works with are Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, Crisis (for the homeless), Save the Music Foundation - about making musical education an integral part of American schools, Tibet House, and Veterans for Peace and the Planet. He has donated funds for the building of homes for disabled veterans and joined with other musicians to raise more funds for veterans in need.
- Joaquin Phoenix has been a committed animal rights activist for many years and literally goes to
slaughterhouses to rescue animals and negotiate their release. He supports
sanctuaries and quietly speaks for
animals in many different ways. He also walks the walk in that he has been a vegan for over 30 years and lobbied the
Golden Globe Awards to feature vegetarian meals this year, for both environmental
reasons as well as on animal welfare grounds.
-
Taylor Swift has donated millions to disaster relief and
education, often makes surprise donations to musicians, fans and local
communities and has contributed $100,000 to the Tennessee Equity Project for
LGBTI Rights as well $100,000 for tornado relief efforts.
- Oprah Winfrey has
contributed over $400m to educational causes including founding of the Oprah
Winfrey Leadership Academy for girls in Africa and supporting the Angel Network
which funds global charities
- Through
the Clara Lionel Foundation – named after her grandparents, Rihanna
has provided over $100 million to global education, emergency
response and health.
- Nor is it always about huge
donations. In 2015, Dan Price, CEO of Gravity, a credit card processing
firm, slashed his own salary to $70 -75K so that his employees could earn $70K
a year too. The move was widely criticised at the time, but analysis ten years later showed that the firm and the employees
profited greatly from the move. Revenue tripled, the customer base doubled and employee retention
improved by 50%. Employees meanwhile, were able to get out of debt and start families.
- Begun in 2011, Jon Bon
Jovi and wife Dorothea's JBJ Soul Kitchen restaurants, have now served over 200,000 customers
and have expanded into several other locations since the first one opened in
Redbank, New Jersey in 2011. The
principle behind them is simple – Pay what you can afford. If you can afford to
pay more, pay it forward so someone who can’t can enjoy a meal. Many volunteer to help in the kitchen. That way everyone can
enjoy a gourmet meal and it’s not just about eliminating hunger, but also about helping people, building friendships and communities.
- Jacqueline Novogratz
— Founder of Acumen Fund, pioneering “patient capital” to solve poverty
through sustainable businesses.
- Leila Janah (late) — Innovator in digital work for poverty alleviation in the USA and abroad. One of her other achievements was the provision of doctors and medical care to women and children in poor communities through her crowdfunding platform. Although Janah passed away in 2020, her work continues.
Not Household Names but should be
Not all are stars of Stage or Screen. Not all make the headlines. While many of the above are household names in the Anglosphere, we shouldn’t forget those in other parts of the world who are also doing good work. Sadly my own knowledge here is sketchy, so I have had a bit of help from my friendly Copilot and AI's.
- Gustavo Cisneros (Venezuela)
Gustavo Cisneros, a media mogul who passed away in 2023, invested heavily in education and the arts across Latin America and beyond, including the Museum of Modern Art. His Fundación Cisneros, supports education, leadership, and social development programs.
- Strive Masiyiwa (Zimbabwe)
African telecoms billionaire Masiyiwa has personally funded the education of 40,000 children and contributed extensively to health, education, and economic development across Africa. A key supporter of vaccine distribution efforts on the continent, he is also a keen environmentalist. Together with Richard Branson he founded The Carbon War Room which used market – based measures to foster emissions reduction in industries such as shipping, aviation and construction. While reasonably successful in its own right, it has since merged with the Rocky Mountain Institute in the USA in order to scale up. He has also been influential in helping small landholders in Africa with various agricultural initiatives.
- Mohammed Dewji (Tanzania)
Often cited as Africa’s richest man, Mohammed Dewji’s focus is on poverty alleviation and youth empowerment in East Africa. Equally at home in board room or village, he invests in individual projects rather than making large donations. Through his Mo Dewji Foundation, he provides scholarships, builds schools, supports teacher training and supplies resources and is engaged in a wide range of health and water initiatives and has also lately turned his attention to climate issues.
- Hansjörg Wyss (Switzerland/USA)*
This Swiss billionaire has donated
over $1 billion for land conservation globally. His Wyss Foundation has
protected millions of acres of wilderness in the USA, Latin America, and Africa.
Among many other environmental contributions he sponsors anti -poaching efforts
in Africa, river restoration, and environmental journalism.
He is also involved
in ocean conservation and has promoted the establishment of a campus in Switzerland and medical research at
Harvard. He, like Mohammed Dewjwi, has
taken the The Giving Pledge.
[Through the Giving Pledge founded by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, wealthy individuals pledge to give at least half their wealth away either during their lifetime or upon their death. In 2017 it had around 157 signatories].
- Vinod Khosla (India/USA)*
Vinhod Khosla is the co- founder
of Sun Microsystems and many other startups which form the basis of modern life
including point of sale technology better known as EFTPOS. He invests in clean energy, sustainable
agriculture, and health technology. His philanthropy is deeply tied to
innovation for sustainability.
The foundation CK12.org which he runs with his
wife Neeru, supports millions of teachers in the USA with free educational
resources and his aim is to do the same for every child on the planet. In 2022
there were 130 million students using them. He has also established 200 10Bed ICU clinics across eight Indian states and also microfinances ventures in Third World Countries.
He is also a Giving Pledge signatory.
- José Andrés (Spain/USA)*
José Andrés is a celebrity chef turned humanitarian who founded World Central Kitchen which provides meals in disaster zones worldwide, including during the COVID-19 pandemic and climate disasters.
While I have mainly focused on the generosity of donors this year and I am sure there are many others whose names I don’t know, I would also have liked to include our environmental champions and others who give to the world in other ways. We could have a special acknowledgement for them later in the year – on Earth Day perhaps, or in the Good News updates which I like to do from time to time.
*Footnote: For countries currently pursing anti – immigration policies, many of the people listed here are immigrants who have contributed immensely to their adopted homes not only through their philanthropic work, but also by way of GDP and job creation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*We mourn the 15 Bondi victims, the 274 journalists in Gaza, the Venezuelan fishermen shot down on the high seas and the hunger strikers in HMPS Bronzefield Prison (Surrey, UK) who were gaoled for protesting against what is happening in Palestine.
We also light a candle for Jimmy Lai, editor of Hong Kong's Independent Newspaper who has just been convicted of treason and for Australian whistleblower David McBride who has also been gaoled.
Comments