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.
Ruth Lilly
Ruth Lilly is the sole heiress to the fortune of Eli Lilly, the century-old pharmaceutical company named after her great-great-grandfather.
Ruth Lilly contributes substantially to the arts. She is also an avid supporter of health advocacies, historical preservation causes, youth nonprofits and countless charitable entities, especially those based in Indiana.
- Ruth Lilly gave $100 million worth of company stock to the Poetry Foundation, which publishes Poetry magazine in Chicago, a magazine that repeatedly spurned her requests to be published when she was younger. Through Poetry Magazine, Ruth Lilly has funded a poetry contest every year since 1986. Ruth Lilly has also contributed roughly $120 million to the Washington-based nonprofit Americans for the Arts.
- Every year, Ruth slakes off $10 million from her wealth, essentially halving her income. Over the years, her philanthropic contributions have totaled over $175 million.
- Lilly’s pledges have given rise to many hospitals, libraries and parks. She donates for health care and education, as well as youth campaigns and historical preservation. In more unusual philanthropy, Ruth Lilly sponsors priests and men of the clergy who are reflecting and meditating on their calling.
- Ruth Lilly is also the founder of the Ruth Lilly Philanthropic Foundation.