philanthropy

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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...

Your Kid Could Get $250 From Billionaire Philanthropists

Michael and Susan Dell to add $6.25B to investment accounts for 25M US kids

(Newser) - Billionaire philanthropists Michael and Susan Dell have announced one of the largest direct charitable gifts in US history: a $6.25 billion pledge to fund investment accounts for 25 million children. The Dells' commitment adds to a new federal initiative that will deposit $1,000 in investment accounts, known as...

New York's Art World Wonders Who Will Step Up Next

New York Times looks at the hole left by the deaths of Leonard Lauder and Agnes Gund

(Newser) - Two of the most influential art patrons in New York, Leonard Lauder and Agnes Gund, have died this year, and the New York Times both extols their largess and asks who will fill their shoes. Lauder, known for his record-setting $131 million donation to the Whitney Museum of American Art...

Scott Gives Away Billions. She Once Had to Borrow $1K

College roommate long ago loaned the future billionaire money so she could stay at Princeton

(Newser) - MacKenzie Scott, one of the world's wealthiest women and most influential philanthropists, is now known for her "no strings attached" surprise donations. But, as a Princeton sophomore, she learned what it was like to be on the receiving end of generosity. Facing the prospect of dropping out if...

MrBeast's Unlikely New Partner: the Rockefeller Foundation

YouTube star and old school charity foundation are looking to inspire youth philanthropy

(Newser) - One of the most storied American philanthropies is teaming up with the internet's biggest creator to an attempt to instill young people with a concern for what they call the world's "most vulnerable" populations. Beast Philanthropy, the charitable organization started by MrBeast founder Jimmy Donaldson, and the...

Billie Eilish Slams Musk in Wake of Tesla Trillionaire Deal
Musk Responds
to Billie Eilish's Barbs
UPDATED
Nov 18, 2025 11:39 AM CST

Musk Responds to Billie Eilish's Barbs

After singer called Musk 'pathetic,' Tesla CEO reacts with some jabs of his own

(Newser) - Elon Musk is clapping back at Billie Eilish after the pop singer called him a "pathetic" expletive, expletive "coward" following Tesla's approval of a pay package that one day could make Musk the world's first trillionaire. Per Rolling Stone , Musk took to his X platform to...

The Bezoses Are Funding 'the Party of the Year'

Couple to put money toward the 2026 Met Gala, which will focus on 'costume art'

(Newser) - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, are stepping into the fashion spotlight as the new backers of the Met Gala—aka "the Oscars of fashion." Organizers announced Sunday that the couple will be partially funding the 2026 Met Gala and its accompanying Costume Institute...

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