philanthropy

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Warren Buffett Talks About Cutting Off Gates Foundation

Says Bill Gates' Epstein association was 'distasteful,' but 'no one bats one thousand'

(Newser) - Billionaire Warren Buffett said Wednesday that his decision to cut the Gates Foundation out of his charitable giving is more about believing his three kids are ready to handle giving away his entire fortune than it is about Bill Gates ' ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Buffett told...

Amid Epstein Scrutiny, Buffett Breaks a Promise to Bill Gates

Billionaire chooses not to donate to Gates Foundation after 20 years

(Newser) - Warren Buffett just rewrote one of philanthropy's biggest relationships. The 95-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chief has halted giving to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, ending nearly 20 years of major donations after fresh scrutiny of Bill Gates' past ties to Jeffrey Epstein . In his latest annual pledge, Buffett said...

Donors Came Through for US Charities, to Tune of $617B

Philanthropic donations rose last year, despite flagging economy

(Newser) - In a year marked by economic uncertainty and political turbulence, philanthropic donations rose in 2025, according to an authoritative annual report on American giving. Donors gave $617 billion to US charities last year, an inflation-adjusted 3% increase over the previous year, according to "Giving USA 2026: The Annual Report...

Melinda French Gates: I Had Epstein Nightmares After Meeting

She calls late sex offender 'abhorrent human being,' says life is 'beautiful' post-divorce from Bill

(Newser) - Melinda French Gates says this chapter of her life is "beautiful"—but it took a divorce, nightmares about Jeffrey Epstein, and a sharpened sense of mission to get here. In a new interview with the Guardian , the 61-year-old philanthropist describes meeting the late sex offender just once and...

She Was 'Far More Than a Presidential Spouse'
She Was 'Far More
Than a Presidential Spouse'
OBITUARY
Jun 6, 2026 10:30 AM CDT

She Was 'Far More Than a Presidential Spouse'

Formidable former French first lady Bernadette Chiraq, wife of Jacques Chiraq, dies at 93

(Newser) - Bernadette Chirac, long cast as the steely half of one of France's most famous political couples, has died at 93, her daughter announced. Born Bernadette Chodron de Courcel into a wealthy, aristocratic family in Paris in 1933, she married Jacques Chirac in 1956 and went on to become far...

Melinda French Gates Wants to End Women's 'Sleepless Nights'

In new op-ed for NYT , philanthropist pledges major funding to transform menopause, midlife care

(Newser) - A century after women were routinely sedated and restrained during childbirth, Melinda French Gates argues we may someday view today's menopause care with similar disbelief. In a New York Times op-ed , the philanthropist writes that nearly 1 in 3 American women over 40 suffers serious menopause symptoms—sleep disruption,...

Billionaires' Gift Could Help Anti-Billionaire Mayor

Jeff Bezos' parents gift $100M to Robin Hood for NYC early childhood education

(Newser) - The New York City mayor who's railed against billionaires just got a nine-figure assist from two of them. Robin Hood, the Wall Street-backed anti-poverty nonprofit, says Jeff Bezos' parents, Jacklyn and Miguel Bezos, have given $100 million to create the Jackie Bezos Endowment for Early Childhood, plus a $25 million...

CNN Founder, Media Mogul Ted Turner Dead at 87
CNN Founder, Media Mogul
Ted Turner Dead at 87
OBITUARY
May 6, 2026 9:50 AM CDT

CNN Founder, Media Mogul Ted Turner Dead at 87

He'd reportedly been living with Lewy body dementia

(Newser) - Ted Turner, who reshaped television with CNN and gave away a sizable chunk of his fortune while he was still alive, has died at 87, his company Turner Enterprises has confirmed, per Variety . He'd revealed in 2018 that he was living with Lewy body dementia, a degenerative brain disease....

It's the End of the Reed Hastings Era at Netflix

Longtime leader shifts focus to philanthropy as shares tumble

(Newser) - Netflix's co-founder is making his exit from the boardroom after nearly 30 years at the company that helped kill the video store, the Wall Street Journal reports. Reed Hastings will leave Netflix's board when his term ends in June, the streamer said Thursday, with the 65-year-old planning to...

MacKenzie Scott Turns Next to Meals on Wheels

Philanthropist's latest unrestricted gift aims to cut waitlists and expand senior services

(Newser) - There is no rest for the weary checkbook of billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott , who is at it again with a $70 million check to Meals on Wheels America, reports Fortune . The national network, which delivers food, check-ins, and companionship to more than 2 million older and homebound Americans a year,...

Craigslist Founder to Billionaires: Follow My Lead

Craig Newmark defends Giving Pledge as a way to 'make life better for all'

(Newser) - Billionaires grumbling about the Giving Pledge might want to look in the mirror, argues Craigslist founder Craig Newmark in a New York Times opinion piece that serves to defend the philanthropy project . Newmark, who describes himself as an "accidentally wealthy" programmer, says he never set out to get rich,...

As Higher Ed Takes Hits, MacKenzie Scott Charges In

Billionaire's untethered grants prioritize funding for underserved colleges

(Newser) - At a moment when Washington is squeezing higher ed, MacKenzie Scott is writing some very big checks. The billionaire philanthropist and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos has quietly become one of the most significant private backers of colleges and universities, especially those serving students who are often left out of elite...

Billionaires Are Starting to Cool to the Giving Pledge

New York Times sees a 'backlash' underway

(Newser) - Warren Buffett once predicted his big philanthropy experiment would unleash "trillions" for charity; 15 years later, some of the billionaires it targets are trying to kill it. In the New York Times , Theodore Schleifer charts the rise and stall of the Giving Pledge—Buffett and Bill and Melinda French...

Big Bang Theory Star Reveals a Generous Late-Night Habit

Kunal Nayyar says he clears random medical debts on GoFundMe as his 'masked vigilante thing'

(Newser) - Kunal Nayyar has a late-night habit you won't see on any resume: anonymously clearing strangers' medical bills on GoFundMe. The Big Bang Theory star, who once pulled in a reported $1 million per episode, says his wealth doesn't feel like a burden so much as "a grace...

US Olympians, Paralympians Now Have a $100M Incentive

Financier Ross Stevens pledges $200,000 to every Team USA competitor going forward

(Newser) - American Olympians who come home without a medal are about to get the kind of payout usually reserved for champions. Beginning with the Milan Cortina Winter Games next month, Wall Street financier Ross Stevens plans to give every US Olympic and Paralympic athlete $200,000 per Games—no podium finish...

MacKenzie Scott Gives the Trevor Project $45M

LGBTQ+ group gets its largest donation ever after difficult years and federal funding cuts

(Newser) - The Trevor Project, known for its hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, received $45 million from billionaire MacKenzie Scott at the end of 2025, the organization said Monday. The gift is the largest in the organization's history but also a major boon following years of management turmoil, layoffs, and the loss...

Bill Gates: World 'Went Backwards' in One Big Way

Child mortality rose in 2025 for the first time in years

(Newser) - Bill Gates thinks the world just flunked a basic test of progress. In his annual letter, the Microsoft co-founder notes that global child mortality rose in 2025 for the first time this century, and he links that reversal directly to reduced aid from wealthy nations. Deaths of children under 5...

Treasury Department's Call: Help Us Fund Trump Accounts

Nation's business leaders, philanthropic organizations are urged to contribute

(Newser) - The US Treasury asked major philanthropic donors to contribute to new investment accounts for children Wednesday as part of what Secretary Scott Bessent called a "50 State Challenge" to raise funds for the Trump Accounts program. "The president is calling on our nation's business leaders and philanthropic...

The Largest Charitable Donations of 2025

Phil and Penny Knight lead the list with $2B gift to a university's cancer research program

(Newser) - The Chronicle of Philanthropy is out with its annual list of the year's largest charitable donations, with a Nike co-founder coming out on top. Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, made a huge donation to cancer research, accounting for 40% of the combined $5 billion in donations recorded by...

Mackenzie Scott Gave Away $7.1B This Year

That's more than double the 2024 total

(Newser) - The author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott revealed $7.1 billion in donations to nonprofits in 2025 Tuesday, marking a significant increase in her annual giving from recent years. Writing in an essay on her website , Scott said, "This dollar total will likely be reported in the news, but any...

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