Mark Zuckerberg “Likes” philanthropy. Following in the footsteps of his generous hero Bill Gates, the Facebook cofounder, chairman and CEO was named the most generous giver in America for 2013.
Along with his wife, Priscilla Chan, the couple gave a donation of 18 million shares of Facebook stock valued at more than $970 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a non-profit that manages and distributes charitable funds. As the largest charitable gift on public record in 2013, their donation places the young couple at the top of The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the 50 most generous donors in American. According to Forbes, Zuckerberg’s net worth is $19 billion as of September 2013.
Coming in second was George Mitchell. The late Texas energy tycoon who pioneered hydraulic fracturing left $750-million to ensure it doesn’t harm the environment.
In third place was Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, who donated $500-million for cancer research at the Oregon Health & Science University Foundation.
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg came in forth, followed by John and Laura Arnold of Texas. Explore the full list of the 50 most generous donors of 2013.
