Economy & LaborDEC 6, 2023

Someone Asked Which Millionaires And Billionaires The Internet Calls Decent And Got These 31 Answers

Usually, when we think of extremely rich people such as millionaires or even billionaires, we don't imagine the best humans on this planet. In fact, most commonly we think of out-of-touch people who likely did not do the best possible thing to acquire their wealth.

But just as we shouldn’t generalize other social groups, we shouldn’t generalize overly rich people as well. So, let's take a look at the list of rich people who are deemed to be philanthropic by internet folks. And let's see if this list changes our perception of them.

More info: Reddit

#1

Someone Asked Which Millionaires And Billionaires The Internet Calls Decent And Got These 31 Answers

Harris Rosen offered free daycare for anyone in the small down of Tangelo Florida and ended up offering to fund college tuition for any tangelo resident to go to a Florida public university. In 20 years the graduation rate went from 25% to nearly 100% and the crime rate was cut in half.

vroomery, WUCF TV

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207points

#2

Keanu Reeves

istoOi, Wikipedia

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191points

#3

Dolly Parton

garage_too_small, dollyparton

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190points

For more insight about rich people's philanthropy, Bored Panda talked to Kristin Wright from Global Giving.

She shared that their organization has been fortunate enough to collaborate with people of various financial backgrounds, including extremely rich people. One of them was the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “This powerful partnership allowed us to launch our Learn Library, a widely used resource offering tools and guidance for people who want to make a positive difference globally.”

#4

Iowa Carpenter Dale Schroeder Saved $3 Million to Put 33 Strangers Through College

Now_Wait-4-Last_Year, Dale Schroeder

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176points

#5

Mackenzie Scott, ex-wife of Bezos. Nothing but charities since the divorce, donating A LOT of the money she got from the divorce.

thoguht, NBC News

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175points

#6

I work for The Michael J. Fox Foundation and Michael has done a hell of a good job mobilizing support for this disease. Over $1 billion raised. Edit for clarity: "This disease" was me referring to Parkinson's. MJF was diagnosed at 29 years old and he is now 62.

GNA1278, Alan Light

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163points

Kristin said that at their organization they believe that philanthropy is driven by a desire to make a difference, which they consider to be a universal human trait. “We've so often observed that the motivation for giving transcends wealth. From millionaires to those who donate a few dollars, the underlying motivator is often a sense of purpose and a desire to contribute positively to the world.” She also mentioned that there are scientific studies which suggest that altruism is hardwired in humans.

The public relations manager noted that initiatives backed by billionaires can have a big impact: “These initiatives can bring about significant changes in various sectors, such as education, healthcare, and environmental conservation.”

#7

Chef Jose Andres started World Central Kitchen which goes to areas that have been hit by natural disasters, etc to help feed the residents.

They literally have boots on the ground within hours of events happening-all over the world.

vk2786, U.S. Department of Agriculture

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156points

#8

Number one wealthiest man in the entire world, Andrew Carnegie, is responsible for creation of public libraries in USA that we all take for granted today.

Before, people had their own books and it was mostly wealthy or upper middle class people. Working class had little to none and good portion are illiterate. Best way to help people to be successful is knowledge.

zenmaster75, Wikipedia

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143points

#9

Gary Sinise . A true hero for people. His foundation raised $300 million for Wounded Soldiers, first responders and their families

Bednarikfan, Marco Metzler

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138points

Kristin also added that everyone’s philanthropy matters, no matter their financial situation: “Every donation — no matter how small — contributes to a larger collective effort when it comes to making the world a better place. The power of thousands of donors making small to medium-sized gifts was on full display during our record-breaking Giving Tuesday event last week, where we raised nearly $3.7 million from over 15,000 donations. This achievement highlighted not just the power of collective giving, but also the spirit of community and shared purpose that unites donors of all capacities.”

Have you ever done any philanthropic deeds yourself? Or maybe you have another rich person in mind who has done this? Don't shy away from sharing your thoughts with us in the comments!

#10

Milton Hershey. Not only did he build an entire town and give his workers housing that has blossomed into one of the highest income areas in the U.S, he also founded the Milton Hershey School, a k-12 school for underprivileged children that is funded by 1/3 of the revenue of the Hershey Company every year. Hershey, PA. also has one of the lowest crime rates in America, one of the best public school systems, and a top 5 children’s hospital in the world. The man built a candy empire and made sure all of the proceeds were funneled right back into the town and the people that worked for him. As an added bonus, he reduced his own earnings to make sure no workers were laid off during the Great Depression.

chunking_putts, Wikipedia

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133points

#11

Bill Gates is donating millions and millions for research into "orphan's diseases". Diseases with just a few hundred or thousand cases worldwide, so Big Pharma says "naw, we're not doing any research - the market is too small, no money in it for us".

That's where the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation steps in and says " we finance it. Go!"

Hats off! I feel nothing but respect

whatstefansees, Joi Ito

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125points

#12

Mariska Hargitay with her work to end the backlog of testing r**e kits as well as all the work with her Joyful Heart Foundation that she’s done.

mmmackkk, Ted Eytan

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125points

#13

A historical British millionaire, James Smithson, donated 100,000 gold Crowns (the equivalent of $500,000 at the time) when he died in 1838, to the US people specifically for the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." Congress kept trying to come up with ways to spend it, which were all blocked by former president John Quincy Adams, who was post-presidency the elected congressman from Massachusetts. JQA kept saying the vision to use the gift was too shortsighted. What ultimately he endorsed was the formation of the Smithsonian Institution that remains a center of learning and knowledge nearly 200 years later.

Musical-Lungs, Wikipedia

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107points

#14

Jon Bon Jovi. I love what he is doing with his restaurants for the homeless. It’s not just about food, it’s also about treating people with dignity.

Pearl Jam. A few years ago they did a series of shows where all the money went to help the homeless in Seattle. I believe they raised about $73 million dollars just from those show alone. And they have done lots of other charity work.

pktrekgirl, Earl McGehee

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105points

#15

Jimmy Carter has a net worth of 10 million, does that count? Eradicated guinea worm from Africa.

torryvonspurks, Ben Baligad

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104points

#16

Yvon Chouinard- Founder of Patagonia. Chose to donate the billion dollar company to an environmental trust rather than list the business publicly.

MoeTheCentaur, Sam Beebe

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99points

#17

Peter Seidler. He was the owner of the San Diego Padres, but put a lot of money and more importantly his own time to fight homelessness in our community. He would walk the streets and buy food and talk to the homeless (even during the pandemic) to learn how the money in his foundations (lucky duck foundation) would better serve them. He made the city leaders meet every Tuesday morning to discuss how they could help the homeless in San Diego. He not only donated millions of dollars, he was active in understanding how that money was spent to best help who needed it most. Every interview I ever heard the man speak, he would bring up these efforts instead of only talking about baseball or the fact he was battling cancer three times over.

Also it was like having a fan own our baseball team and he dressed like one too. He will be sorely missed in our community.

phicks_law, KPBS Public Media

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94points

#18

Mark Cuban for sure. What he's doing to get people affordable prescription medication is changing the game

bherman1325, Gage Skidmore

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91points

#19

John Green and Hank Green.

They are millionaires that have used their social position to raise thousands among thousands among thousands of dollars for charity (Hank's Cancer socks), support tuberculosis efforts (John Green spoke to the UN), improve the health system in Sierra Leone, and more alongside curating an educational YouTube channel that helps millions of students (crash course).

azurdit3, Gage Skidmore

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91points

#20

Shahzada Dawood from Pakistan, who passed away in the ill-fated submersible "Titan," with his son & 3 others, had been supercharitable with his money. Free treatment for kidney and liver ailments, access to education for underprivileged children, financial contribution to environmental causes, science & technology, research in these fields, and so much more.

Wonderful_Low_1325, The Dawood Foundation

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89points