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 | Committed | Giving rate | Transparency | Pts | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill GatesGates Foundation · Microsoft | $18.29Bstatutory | $100.57Blifetime awards | 20.4%of $89.80B · as of 2017-07-27 | 10070/70 volunteered | 100.0 | — |
| 2 | MacKenzie ScottBystander Revolution · Yield Giving | $10.67Bdonor-reported +676 withheld | —lifetime awards | 18%of $59.40B · as of 2021-04-09 | 8570/70 volunteered | 58.3 | — |
| 3 | Warren BuffettThe Giving Pledge · biBERK Business Insurance | $4.88Bstatutory | —lifetime awards | 5.9%of $82.50B · as of 2019-01-01 | 600/70 volunteered | 26.7 | — |
| 4 | Michael BloombergBloomberg L.P. · Bloomberg Philanthropies | $3.00Bstatutory | —lifetime awards | 5.4%of $55.50B · as of 2019-01-01 | 600/70 volunteered | 16.4 | — |
| 5 | George SorosOpen Society Institute · Soros Fund Management | $2.05Bstatutory | —lifetime awards | 24.7%of $8.30B · 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 | —lifetime awards | — | 480/70 volunteered | 8.4 | — |
| 7 | Mark ZuckerbergMeta · Facebook | $603.9Mstatutory | —lifetime awards | 0.9%of $69.80B · as of 2019-10-05 | 600/70 volunteered | 3.3 | — |
| 8 | Denise CoatesDenise Coates Foundation | $73.0Mstatutory | —lifetime awards | 0.7%of $10.20B · as of 2021-02 | 330/70 volunteered | 0.4 | — |
| 9 | James DysonThe James Dyson Foundation · Dyson | $17.9Mstatutory | —lifetime awards | — | 410/70 volunteered | 0.1 | — |
| 10 | Tom HunterThe Hunter Foundation | $8.2Mstatutory | —lifetime awards | — | 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.