The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists

Businesspeople gave big: Sixteen of the 50 gave at least $100 million, and one giver donated $723 million

The mega-gifts came fast and furious in 2007. Nothing could top last year's news of a planned transfer of $31 billion in wealth from Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. But chemical manufacturing executive Jon Huntsman's $723 million in 2007 giving was a stunner, with much of it going to a cause he can unfortunately relate to—cancer. His mother, stepmother and father died of cancer, and he's battled it three times.
And Buffett did contribute to a big year in giving, in a way: A new
giver on our list, Lorry Lokey, sold his company, Business Wire, to
Buffett for an estimated $600 million last year. This year Lokey gave
a $74.5 million gift fueled by loyalty to his home state of Oregon, as
well as other gifts tied to childhood memories of a librarian who
sparked his passion for reading. To read his story and many more
behind the billions in giving, click away.