BASSETERREN St. Kitts, November 28th, 2012 -- With Tuesday being dubbed “Giving Tuesday” — following the “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” shopping extravaganzas — here’s a look at some of the nation’s top philanthropists.
The Chronicle of Philanthropy published a list of the 50 most generous donors of 2011 in February, which included several well-known Bay Area tech figures. Altogether, the 50 top philanthropists gave away $10.4 billion in 2011.
At No. 18 was Pierre and Pam Omidyar, who donated $74.5 million. Pierre Omidyar founded eBay and has since shifted his focus to the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm, among other projects. The $74.5 million went to the Omidyar Network, as well as HopeLab, a non-profit that develops games and technology for critically ill children, and Humanity United, a Redwood City group that supports efforts to fight slavery and mass atrocities around the globe.
Also making the list at No. 25 was Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andME, a genetic testing company. They contributed more than $61.9 million to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Through Wojcicki’s work at 23andME, Brin discovered that he and his mother carry a Parkinson’s-related mutation of the LRRK2 gene.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison appears on the list at No. 27. Ellison helped to establish the Ellison Medical Foundation, which awards grants to promising researchers studying aging. He contributed $59.2 million to the foundation last year.
Though they’re not in the tech industry, another Bay Area couple to make the list at No. 33 was Thomas Steyer, founder of Farallon Capital Management, and Kathryn Taylor, founder of One PacificCoast Bank. They pledged to contribute $40 million, of which $25 million is being used at Steyer’s alma matter Yale University to start the Energy Sciences Institute, and $15 million to San Francisco’s Center for the Next Generation.
Now what about the other folks on the billionaire’s list? (We should note that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Salesforce.com’s Marc Benioff and Lynne Benioff made the list the year before. They tied at No. 10.)
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
