Jeff Bezos was the top philanthropist of 2020, according to results released Tuesday by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
The outgoing head of Amazon made $10.15 billion in contributions in 2020, $10 billion of which to start the Bezos Earth Fund, which will issue grants to organizations working to reduce climate change. Bezos also made a $100 million contribution to Feeding America.
Bezos rejoined the annual top 50 rankings of philanthropists after failing to make the list in 2019. Bezos topped the list of US philanthropists in 2018 with more than $2 billion in philanthropy.
Just behind Bezos on the list is his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott. Scott donated $5.7 billion of her fortune to 512 organizations ranging from food banks to social justice advocates.
Former New York mayor and presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg ranked third, donating $1.6 billion in 2020. Bloomberg has consistently been one of America’s top philanthropists, making the top 50 list of philanthropists 16 years in a row, including six years in a row in the top five. He has given away more than $11 billion of his wealth.
Ranking No. 4 is Phil and Penelope Knight of Nike. The couple donated $900 billion to the Knight Foundation and an additional $300 million going to the University of Oregon.
Jack Dorsey of Twitter ranked No. 5 contributing nearly $1.1 billion of his fortune to charity. Much of his philanthropy went toward pandemic relief organizations.
Other notable philanthropists in the top 50 include Bill and Melinda Gates who donated $157 million, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan who donated $ 120 million, and Michael Jordan, who donated $52 million.
To see the top 50 philanthropists in the US in 2020, click here.
