Mark Zuckerberg Top Philanthropist Of 2013, Donated $992 Million To Charity
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan were they youngest and most generous Americans in 2013, according to a list put out by The Chronicle of Philantropy that was released on Monday.
The Facebook founder and his physician wife donated $992.2 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in San Mateo, putting them at the top of the list of philanthropists for last year.
The Chronicle says this marks the first time anyone under the age of 30 has topped the list of biggest donors. Mark Zuckerberg is 29-years-old and Chan is 28.
However, the same cannot be said about other donors, as only seven of those who made the list are under 50-years-old.
Mark Zuckerberg topped the 50 most generous list in 2013, with 69 individuals recognized by the publication. Ten of those listed have passed away.
California, with 15 donors, was the state that was best represented, followed by New York, with 12 of the top 50 donors and Texas in third place with five.
The Golden State was also the recipient of the majority of the money from the top 50 most generous contributors.
Educational Institutions, such as Universities and Colleges were the most common recipients of donations, with 30 of them receiving $1 million or more.
Mark Zuckerberg and Chan’s donations consisted of 18 million shares of Facebook, valued at about $992.2 million, to the Mountain View, California nonprofit. They donated the same number of Facebook shares to the same charity in 2012.
Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow donors gave a total of $7.7 billion, with an additional $2.9 billion in pledges.
The Chronicle’s editor Stacy Palmer says that the amount of money contributed in 2013 is a positive development and a sign that people are less cautious about the economic situation in the US.
Following Mark Zuckerberg in first place is George Mitchell from Galveston, Texas, — who made his fortune in energy and real estate.
Nike chairman Philip Knight and his wife, Penelope, of Portland, Oregon, are listed in third place, after making a $500 million challenge grant to Oregon Health & Science University Foundation for cancer research.
In fourth place philanthropist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, made donations totaling $452 million in 2013 to the environment, education, arts, public health, and other causes.
The young entrepreneur just celebrated Facebook’s 10th anniversary and in that time he has made $31 billion in shares. With stocks hitting $61 per share, the social media network is worth $150 billion, of which approximately 500 million shares are owned by Mark Zuckerberg.
