Pioneering American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie once set the standard for giving back: "No man can become rich without himself enriching others," he said. "The man who dies rich dies disgraced."
Scores of the world's wealthiest people have taken to his philosophy, donating their riches to hundreds of causes.
We worked with our friends at Wealth-X, a firm that does research and valuations on ultra-high net worth individuals, to compile a list of the 20 most generous people in the world, ranked by total charitable giving to date.
Since you need to have a lot to give a lot, Wealth-X also determined each person's Generosity Index, which is the ratio of theirlifetime donations to their current net worth. Some people, like retail magnate Chuck Feeney, known as the "James Bond of philanthropy," have indices over 100% because they have given away more money than they currently have.
With a total combined donation amount of $106.8 billion, these 20 individuals are the top philanthropists in the world.
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20. Dietmar Hopp
Lifetime donations: $1 billion
Net worth: $6.3 billion
Generosity Index: 16%
German IT entrepreneur Dietmar Hopp is the cofounder and former chairman and CEO of SAP, a multinational company that provides application and analytics software and software-related services for enterprises worldwide.
Twenty years ago, Hopp established Dietmar Hopp Stiftung, a foundation that supports local education, sports, and health causes in his hometown in Germany, including the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM), University Hospital Heidelberg, and the Nathalie Todenhofer Foundation.
Source:Wealth-X
19. Pierre Omidyar
Lifetime donations: $1 billion
Net worth: $6.2 billion
Generosity Index: 16%
Paris-born, Iranian-American Pierre Omidyar is cofounder and current chairman of eBay.
In 1998, he and his wife, Pamela, established the Omidyar Foundation, an organization that now includes Omidyar Network, HopeLab, Humanity United, and Ulupono Initiative. The organization donates to a diverse range of causes, including entrepreneurship, human rights, food and energy, and games and technology. In 2012, Omidyar and his wife joined the Giving Pledge initiative started by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, promising to donate most of their wealth to charities.
In August 2015, Omidyar reportedly sold 10% of his shares in eBay to undisclosed charities — a stock gift valued at nearly $270 million.
Source: Wealth-X
18. Michael Dell
Lifetime donations: $1.1 billion
Net worth: $18.9 billion
Generosity Index: 6%
Michael Dell is the chairman and CEO of Dell computer company. Since 1999, he's been the director of the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, which gives primarily to education, social and human services, arts and culture, and community-development causes.
Earlier this year, the foundation pledged to donate $25 million to fund the construction of a new teaching hospital in Austin, Texas.
Source: Wealth-X
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