Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donates $1.2 billion for polio eradication

Though Bill Gates and Melinda French ended their 27-year old marriage in 2021, they continue to co-chair the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. According to Forbes, the foundation made donations worth $5.8 billion in 2020. The Microsoft co-founder and his ex-wife have also pledged to donate 95 per cent of their wealth to tackle poverty across the globe.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has promised to give away the major part of his fortune to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As per Forbes, he has so far donated around $46 billion to the Gates foundation. Apart from this, the billionaire has also donated to the four charities set up by his three children.

Hungarian-born American businessman George Soros runs Open Society Foundation that is operational in over 120 countries. It supports causes like economic quality, human rights, justice reform and journalism. In 2021, the philanthropist pledged to donate $500 million to the endowment of Bard College.

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard in September this year gave away the ownership of his company worth $3 billion. The businessman donated his apparel company and all its profits to protect wildlife, biodiversity and fight climate change.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's ex-wife MacKinzie Scott doesn't have a website that tells about her philanthropy. However, after her divorce, she has donated at least $8.6 billion to over 780 organisations, focusing on racial justice, gender equality and public health.

After his transition from Amazon CEO to Chairman in 2021, Jeff Bezos announced $1 billion donations. It included gifts worth $443 million to environmental organisations, $100 million to ex-US President Barack Obama’s foundation and $96 million to non-profit NGOs helping homeless families.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most charitable athletes in the world. The Portuguese professional footballer has donated $1,65,000 to fund a cancer centre in Portugal, $83,000 to a 10-year-old fan in need of a brain surgery and $7.5 million to Nepal earthquake relief efforts. The Real Madrid superstar also spreads awareness, and funds for a number of other causes like childhood hunger, biodiversity and obesity.

The former Swiss tennis player runs a charity named Roger Federer Foundation. Known for pouring his wealth into charitable causes, Federer recently donated $1 million to provide meals for young children and their families in Africa. He, along with his wife Mirka, has also donated funds to vulnerable families in Switzerland.

Indian industrialist Ratan Tata has been an active supporter of education, medicine and rural development. With more than 65 per cent of his shares invested in charitable trusts, he gave $950 million to IIT Bombay to develop design and engineering principles that suit the needs of less privileged people and communities.