The "One Percent" gets a bad rap about hogging vast quantities of the country's wealth. And often, those complaints are justified.
But that doesn't mean everyone in the wealthiest tier of society is just sitting on piles of money. Many of America's richest people give away huge sums to charities, scientific research and other worthy causes each year.
As a reminder that some people in the One Percent actually do good, we're looking at the 20 biggest philanthropic donors of 2010, using data from the Chronicle of Philanthropy (read about their methodology here).
2010 actually saw a dip in the generosity of the biggest donors. The combined sum donated by the top 54 totaled just $3.3 billion, the smallest amount since the magazine started tracking donations in 2000. In 2006, donations from the top 50 totaled $50.7 billion (including Warren Buffett's $36 billion pledge to the Gates Foundation). And of the 400 wealthiest Americans on Forbes' annual list, just 17 also appeared on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's top 50.
But there are already signs that things are turning around in 2011. Philanthropist and steel magnate William S. Dietrich II pledged $440 million to two universities in Pittsburgh before he died this month. That figure tops the highest amount donated in 2010.
Meet the most generous philanthropists of 2010
#25 Lee and Jane Seidman
#24 Larry Ellison
Image: via Forbes
Amount donated in 2010: $45.1 million
Net worth: $39.5 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: Ellison Medical Foundation
Net worth: $39.5 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiary: Ellison Medical Foundation
Background: Ellison, the founder of Oracle, started his foundation in 1997 for biomedical research.
#23 Bennett S. LeBow
Image: Drexel University
Amount donated in 2010: $49 million
Net worth: Not available
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary: Drexel University
Background: LeBow is the chairman and CEO of Borders and chairman of the Vector Group, a holding company for manufacturers of cigarettes. He's a graduate of Drexel and the university's business school bears his name.
#19 (tie) P. Roy and Diana Vagelos
Image: University of Pennsylvania
Image: UCLA
Amount donated in 2010: $50 million
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary: University of California at Los Angeles
Background: Dr. Terasaki is a pioneer in the field of organ transplant medicine. In 1946 he developed the test that became the international standard method for tissue typing. He conducted his research in the university's laboratories.
#19 (tie) Ming Hsieh
Image: USC
#19 (tie) Ned Evans
Image: Keeneland
#18 Charles E. Kaufman
Image: philanthropy
Image: Philanthropy
Amount donated in 2010: $61.5 million
Net worth: $6.2 billion (via Forbes)
Beneficiaries: HopeLab, Humanity United, Omidyar Network, and the Ulupono Initiative
Beneficiaries: HopeLab, Humanity United, Omidyar Network, and the Ulupono Initiative
Background: Omidyar is the founder of eBay. His wife is the chairwoman of HopeLab, a nonprofit that develops technology to benefit chronically ill children.
Image: The Lawrenceville School
Amount donated in 2010: $80 million
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary: Cornell University
Background: Atkinson is a former partner of Miller, Anderson & Sherrerd, a money management firm. He now runs Atkinson & Company, a private investment business he owns with his wife. Their gift went towards a research center focusing on energy, sustainability and the environment
Image: via Philanthropy
Image: Penn State University
Amount donated in 2010: $88 million
Beneficiary: Pennsylvania State University
Background: Pegula founded East Resources, an oil and gas exploration and development company, which he sold to Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 for $4.7 billion. The donation from Pegula, an alumnus, will go towards the university's hockey program.
#10 (tie) Mark Zuckerberg
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Image articles.sfgate
Amount donated in 2010: $100 million
Beneficiary: University of California at San Francisco Children’s Hospital
Background: Benioff is the founder of Salesforce.com. His daughter was born at the hospital, and he is a member of its board.#9 Meyer and Renee Luskin
Image: UCLA
#8 T. Boone Pickens
Image: LACMA
Amount donated in 2010: $110 million (estimated bequest)
Net worth: Not available
Beneficiary:The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
Background: Brody, who passed away in 2009, was the heir to both the fortune of her father, an advertising pioneer, and her husband Sidney Brody, a real estate magnate. She was a member of the library's board of overseers, and her donation was largely funded by the sale of her vast art collection.
#6 Leonard Blavatnik
#4 Irwin and Joan Jacobs
Image: AP
Image: via Human Events
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