Slate.com recently released its annual Slate 60 list of top philanthropic givers. The list, compiled by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, estimates who were the country’s top 60 philanthropists based on what they pledged and gave the most money in 2009.
According to our calculation, either 11 or 13 of the top 60 are Jewish. (When we were not sure about whether they were members of the tribe, we made a notation with an asterisk.) Among the top givers, two gave directly to Jewish causes: Irwin M. and Joan K. Jacobs gave $24.3 million to the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, and Steven L. and Carol Aaron gave $15 million to the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation.
Some big Jewish names are missing here, including Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and Sheldon Adelson.
Here are the presumed Jewish givers from Slate, along with their ranking on the Slate 60 and how much they gave in 2009:
- 1) ** Stanley F. and Fiona B. Druckenmiller, $705 million. (according to Gawker, Druckenmiller is Jewish.)
- 4) Michael R. Bloomberg, $256 million.
- 6) George Soros, $150 million.
- 7) Eli and Edyth Broad $105 million.
- 18) Ronald P. Stanton, $50 million.
- 24) Lawrence J. Ellison, $46.9 million.
- 31) ** David Eddings, $30 million. (I am not sure if the late fantasy author is Jewish, but he left $10 million to National Jewish Health in Denver for Asthma research.)
- 35) Sanford and Joan Weill, $26 million
- 40) Irwin M. and Joan K. Jacobs, $24.3 million Joan and Irwin Jacobs Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego.
- 41) John W. and Janice B. Fisher, $22 million.
- 43) Stewart A. and Lynda R. Resnick $21 million.
- 52) David M. Rubenstein, $15.75 million.
- 54) Steven L. and Carol Aaron, $15 million Dallas Jewish Community Foundation.
- 56) Jeffrey S. Skoll, $13.7 Million to his Skoll foundation
