Melissa Stusinski
#9 – Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan
Net Worth: $35.7 billion
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan donated $25 million to the CDC Foundation last year to fight Ebola. Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook and remains the company’s CEO, was one of the first people to join the Giving Pledge in 2010. The couple has given away $1.6 billion to date. Zuckerberg and Chan gave $100 million each to improving Bay-Area schools and the public school system in Newark, New Jersey. After donating to the CDC Foundation, last year, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife encouraged all of their Facebook followers to do the same.
#10 – George B. Kaiser
Net Worth: $9.3 billion
George B. Kaiser made his billions in the oil, gas, and banking industries. He is currently the chairman of BOK Financial. Kaiser explained that he joined the Giving Fund to help address the root causes of poverty, as well as “reverse the generational cycle of poverty.”
#11 – Vladimir Potanin
Net Worth: $13.5 billion
Vladimir Potanin is ranked by Forbes as the richest man in Russia and the 60th richest man in the world. He amassed his fortune by buying up metal companies in Russia as they were privatized. In announcing his decision to join the Giving Pledge, Potanin explained that he wants to use his wealth to “support programs in the area of education, culture and philanthropic development,” particularly in Russia.
It’s also worth noting that Potanin plans to give away the majority of his money for the benefit of his kids, explaining that the “burden of extreme wealth” could “deprive them of any motivation to achieve anything in life on their own.”
