Season 2026 · credit where it's due
Capital
A friendly competition for the public good — celebrating major donors and inspiring others to raise the bar. Ranked by verified capital paid to independent recipients over the past five fiscal years.
| # | Donor | Deployed · 5y | Giving rate | Transparency | Pts | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill GatesGates Foundation · Microsoft | $18.29Bstatutory | 20.4%of $89.80B · Wikidata P2218 (CC0) · as of 2017-07-27 | 10070/70 volunteered | 100.0 | — |
| 2 | MacKenzie ScottBystander Revolution · Yield Giving | $10.67Bdonor-reported +676 withheld | 18%of $59.40B · Wikidata P2218 (CC0) · as of 2021-04-09 | 8570/70 volunteered | 58.3 | — |
| 3 | Warren BuffettThe Giving Pledge · biBERK Business Insurance | $4.88Bstatutory | 5.9%of $82.50B · Wikidata P2218 (CC0) · as of 2019-01-01 | 600/70 volunteered | 26.7 | — |
| 4 | Michael BloombergBloomberg L.P. · Bloomberg Philanthropies | $3.00Bstatutory | 5.4%of $55.50B · Wikidata P2218 (CC0) · as of 2019-01-01 | 600/70 volunteered | 16.4 | — |
| 5 | George SorosOpen Society Institute · Soros Fund Management | $2.05Bstatutory | 24.7%of $8.30B · Wikidata P2218 (CC0) · as of 2019-01-01 | 600/70 volunteered | 11.2 | — |
| 6 | Chris HohnChildren's Investment Fund Foundation (UK) · The Children's Investment Fund Management | $1.53Bstatutory | — | 480/70 volunteered | 8.4 | — |
| 7 | Mark ZuckerbergMeta · Facebook | $603.9Mstatutory | 0.9%of $69.80B · Wikidata P2218 (CC0) · as of 2019-10-05 | 600/70 volunteered | 3.3 | — |
| 8 | Denise CoatesDenise Coates Foundation | $73.0Mstatutory | 0.7%of $10.20B · Wikidata P2218 (CC0) · as of 2021-02 | 330/70 volunteered | 0.4 | — |
| 9 | James DysonThe James Dyson Foundation · Dyson | $17.9Mstatutory | — | 410/70 volunteered | 0.1 | — |
| 10 | Tom HunterThe Hunter Foundation | $8.2Mstatutory | — | 550/70 volunteered | 0.0 | — |
Deployed means disclosed money paid to independent recipients — not pledges or transfers into donor-controlled vehicles. Giving rate compares the five-year total with a dated, source-linked net-worth estimate. Every figure shows its source and date. Gaps mark the limits of our evidence, not anyone's giving.
See where the giving goes.
Explore paid grants by country or US jurisdiction. Hover for leading recipients and project purposes; select a place to inspect the evidence.
69.8%$40.38B has usable recipient geography
140countries, including the US roll-up
52US states and jurisdictions
$17.49Bcannot be placed from disclosed fields
Countries use Natural Earth label points; US destinations use Census population centres. Dots represent areas, never recipient street addresses.