2009 saw sharp fall in giving by wealthy Americans

By: 

Cheryl Chapman

Managing Editor, Philanthropy UK

The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s year-end list showing the 10 single biggest gifts donated by Americans in 2009 offers little cheer with which to start the year as it finds a sharp drop in the total of more than 70% compared to 2008 figures.
In 2009 a total of $2.7bn ($1.7bn) was given by wealthy Americans compared to $8bn (£4.9bn) in 2008 and more than $4bn ($2.4bn) in 2007.

However, despite the chronic economic climate, the 2009 total was not the lowest in the 12-year history of the list. The report states that ‘four of the years — 1998, 2002, 2003, and 2005 — saw totals of about $2bn (£1.3bn) or less.’
The biggest donation of 2009 was $747m (£461m), made by the Haas family, heirs to the Rohm & Haas Company fortune, to the William Penn Foundation (Philadelphia) for programmes to benefit Philadelphia causes.

Stanley Druckenmiller, founder of Duquesne Capital Management, and his wife, Fiona, gave $705m (£435m) to the Druckenmiller Foundation (New York) for medical research, education, and antipoverty programmes, putting them in second place in the list.

The third largest donation of $350m (£216m) was made by Bill Gates, a co-founder of the Microsoft Corporation, and his wife, Melinda, to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle) for a new building.

The full list can be found here.