
Bioreports Photo/Marty Lederhandler
T10. Food, agriculture, and nutrition
Reuters/ Brendan McDermid
Percentage of billionaire population donating to cause: .01%
Hedge fund billionaire David Tepper is among only 0.1% of billionaires worldwide who financially support organizations focused on feeding the hungry, according to Wealth-X. Tepper set up a donation drive for the Community Food Bank of New Jersey in 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported. Tepper personally pledged $2 million.
Percentage of billionaire population donating to cause: 12.4%
Former hedge-fund manager George Soros is among 12.4% of billionaires worldwide who donate to organizations that focus on public affairs, according to Wealth-X. Soros’ nonprofit, Open Society Foundations, aims to on support democracy through grants for projects in human rights and criminal justice, journalism, and other fields, according to its website.
Business Insider previously reported that Soros is also a major donor to liberal politicians, having spent $25 million during the 2016 presidential election to support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
T8. Religious organizations
Bioreports Photo/Hobby Lobby
6. Children and youth development
Bioreports
Percentage of billionaire population donating to cause: 31.9%
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is among the 31.9% of billionaires who donate to youth development programs, according to Wealth-X.
Ballmer’s foundation, the Ballmer Group, focuses “efforts to improve economic mobility for children and families in the United States who are disproportionately likely to remain in poverty,” according to the organization’s website.
5. Environment, conservation, and animals
Percentage of billionaire population donating to cause: 32.6%
Environmental conservation is the fourth-most popular cause among billionaires, receiving donations from 32.6% of the world’s billionaires according to Wealth-X. Tesla CEO Elon Musk anonymously donated $6 million to The Sierra Club before asking that the organization’s president publicize his contributions, Bloomberg reported.
4. Healthcare and medical research
Percentage of billionaire population donating to cause: 57.4%
Wealth-X reports that 57.4% of billionaires have made donations in the healthcare sector. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff donated $100 million to the University of California San Francisco in 2010 to build a children’s hospital that will be named after him, according to NBC.
Shutterstock/Alexander Prokopenko
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Percentage of billionaire population donating to cause: 79.5%
More billionaires donate to education than any other cause, according to Wealth-X, with 79.5% supporting the cause.
Education is at the core of the Gates Foundation’s work in the United States, according to its website.
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