America has big donors and great wealth. The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently published a biggest donor list for 2023. Topping the list was Michael Bloomberg of New York. No other American gave more to charity than Bloomberg. The former NYC Mayor contributed $3 billion to support the arts, education, environment, public health, and programs aimed at improving city governments around the world in 2023. This generosity put him on the Chronicle’s exclusive list of the 50 Americans who donated the largest sums to nonprofits last year.
Next on the list is Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, who gave $1.24 billion, including support for the University of Oregon and an ambitious poverty-fighting effort in Portland, Oregon.
Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, contributed nearly $976 million to their charitable funds, putting them in the third slot. Together, the 50 donors on the list contributed a total of $11.9 billion to charity in 2023. The median amount they gave was $100 million.