Highlighted Philanthropists
Veronica Atkins
Atkins is one of the top fifty most generous philanthropists. Newsweek also proclaimed her part of the “All-Star Team" in philanthropy.
Naveen Jain
Jain has been named one of the Top 20 Entrepreneurs by Red Herring, recognized for winning the Albert Einstein Technology Medal Winner, and received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2007.
George Soros
The Soros Foundations are an international network of local, Soros-founded foundations promoting sociopolitical activities.
Kenneth Langone
In 1978, he partnered with Bernard Marcus and Arthur Blank to found Home Depot, which today is one of the largest and most successful chains in the home improvement industry. He has contributed almost $150 million dollars to various charities.
Irwin Jacobs
Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs is a scientist and the co-founder and chairman of Qualcomm. As a scientist and businessman, Dr. Irwin Jacobs has made several contributions to technology. As a philanthropist, he has served by contributing his wealth to education and the arts.
Irwin Jacobs' wrote the seminal textbook Principles of Communication Engineering in 1965, a textbook that pioneered important concepts in communication engineering.
As an engineer, Mr. Jacobs helped popularize the use of CDMA technology as a means of transmitting voice and data through wireless networks. Because of this technology, wireless communication has become accessible to people across the globe.
Irwin Jacobs has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the field of education through generous donations and grants to several schools and organizations. Most of these contributions went to fellowships and scholarships for deserving students, particularly in the field of engineering and computer science.
Irwin Jacobs has given grants to the following institutions/organizations:
- $31 million to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (where Irwin Jacobs received his post-graduate degrees)
- $15 million and another $110 million to University of California at San Diego (where Irwin Jacobs was professor of computer science and engineering for several years)
- $62 million total to American Technion Society, Cornell University (Irwin Jacobs' alma mater), KPBS Radio and Television, and San Diego Natural History Museum.
Dr. Irwin M. Jacobs has also given grants amounting to around $130 million to the following institutions:
- La Jolla Playhouse
- Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego
- San Diego Symphony