By Abby Schultz

The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list of the 50 most generous American donors offers something noteworthy: Some of the wealthiest people aren't on it.

It isn't necessarily because they don't donate. They may just be keeping it private. "Nobody has to say what they are giving to charity unless they report it to us," said Maria Di Mento, who directs the Philanthropy 50, a project that involves research and and interviews with dozens of nonprofits and donors.

Consider MacKenzie Scott, whose net worth is about $38 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire index as of Wednesday. Scott has stated on her website Yield Giving that she has donated more than $19.25 billion to charity since 2020, but her grants go through donor-advised funds, which aren't required to publicly report gifts. Scott and her representatives won't disclose to the Chronicle how much she donates, Di Mento said.

In fact, only 19 of the wealthiest people in the country -- as measured by the Forbes list of the 400 richest people in America -- showed up on the Chronicle's list.

Michael Bloomberg landed the top spot on the list for the second year in a row. He gave $3.7 billion to several nonprofits last year, including $1 billion to his alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, to cover tuition and expenses for most medical school students and to expand financial aid for nursing and public-health students.

Worth at least $105 billion as of September, Bloomberg is ranked No. 10 on Forbes list. Collectively, these 19 uber-wealthy donors gave more than $12.3 billion of $16.2 billion overall last year, up 32% from a year ago, the Chronicle said.

Bloomberg is also among 13 of the top philanthropists who have signed the Giving Pledge, a nonbinding promise made by 179 living U.S. individuals and couples to donate at least half their wealth to charity, the Chronicle said. The pledge was created by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett in 2010.

The list offers new faces, too. Ruth Gottesman came out of nowhere to rank No. 6 with a $1 billion gift offering free tuition to students of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, where she was a professor of pediatrics. The gift came from the fortune earned by her late husband, David, a protégé of No. 4 ranked Buffett, who invested early in Berkshire Hathaway.

Write to Abby Schultz at abby.schultz@barrons.com

Last Week

Markets

President Donald Trump named five digital assets for a crypto reserve but said no government money would be used to fund it. He levied tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico, noting in a speech to Congress that they would cause "a little disturbance." A day later, with stocks selling off and the Atlanta Fed's GDPNow forecasting a 2.8% first-quarter contraction, he paused Mexico and Canadian auto tariffs, then exempted most tariffs on the two until April 2. Stocks fell further, then bounced on solid jobs numbers. On the week, the Dow industrials fell 2.4%; the S&P 500, 3.1%; and the Nasdaq Composite 3.5%.

Companies

China retaliated against U.S. tariffs with 10% to 15% levies on farm goods and banned imports of genetic sequencers. Canada pulled back its retaliatory tariffs. The administration said it would sell 443 federal properties, then cut the list to 330, then took it down. DOGE told the top 10 federal consultants they had a day to justify their contracts. The largest: Deloitte, with $1.9 billion for IRS IT services. SpaceX's Starship rocket blew up eight minutes after launch.

Deals

A BlackRock-led investor group bought 80% of Hong Kong--based CK Hutchison's port business for $23 billion, including two Panama Canal ports...Japan's Seven & I Holdings plans to list its 7-Eleven business in the U.S. and buy back $13 billion in shares to fight a takeover from Alimentation Couche-Tard...Sycamore Partners agreed to buy Walgreens Boots Alliance for $10 billion.

Next Week

Monday 3/10

Two megacap software companies highlight a very quiet week on the earnings calendar. Oracle reports quarterly results on Monday and Adobe on Wednesday.

Wednesday 3/12

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for February. Economists forecast a 2.9% year-over-year increase. The core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, is expected to rise 3.2%. Both estimates would be one-tenth of a percentage less than the January figures. The annual change in the core CPI has been stuck in a narrow range of 3.2% to 3.3% since last summer.

Friday 3/14

The University of Michigan releases its Consumer Sentiment Index for March. Consensus estimate is for a 63.9 reading, slightly less than in February. Plummeting consumer confidence and rising inflation expectations roiled the stock market over the past month. The most recent reading from the University of Michigan was a 15-month low, while a similar survey in late February from the Conference Board registered the largest monthly decline since August 2021. Consumers' expectations of the year-ahead inflation was 4.3% in February in the Michigan survey, the highest reading since late 2023.

The Numbers

$540 B

The volume of Chinese exports in the first two months, a record. Imports fell 8.4% for a record trade surplus.

$12 T

Estimate of new government debt globally in 2025, a record. Total debt would hit $77 trillion, also a record.

2.1 B

Number of adults globally who are overweight or obese, more than doubling over the past 30 years.

36%

Percentage of U.S. workers who plan to retire at 70 or later. Some 53% say they will work in retirement.

Write to Robert Teitelman at robrt.teitelman@barrons.com

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March 07, 2025 20:29 ET (01:29 GMT)

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