Bigwigs continued to donate in 2001

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — The nation’s top philanthropists continue to share hefty sums of their wealth despite the country’s recession and the stumbling stock market.

Bill and Melinda Gates were listed No. 2 as the country’s top givers.

Colleges and universities attracted the most gifts from the top donors, followed by hospitals and medical centers, according to a survey released Sunday by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The 66 "most generous donors" on the list gave a total of $10.2 billion in 2001, with an additional $2.2 billion in unpaid pledges.

That’s up from the previous year’s combined $7.4 billion.

It’s interesting that "giving was as strong as it was even though it was a pretty difficult year financially," said Stacey Palmer, editor of the biweekly Chronicle, which compiled the list largely from the reports of organizations that received the gifts.

The bulk of the donors’ wealth was based on finance, real estate or technology.

Intel Corp. founder Gordon Moore and his wife, Betty, topped the list with $6.13 billion pledged or donated in 2001, including a record $600 million pledged over 10 years to the California Institute of Technology, Moore’s alma mater.

Much of that money went to the Moores’ new charitable foundation, which will gradually redistribute it to other causes, including the environment and technology, said Genny Biggs, spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, ranked No. 2 on the donors’ list, giving $2 billion to boost the endowment of the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation and to increase the availability of vaccines for preventable diseases of children in poor countries.

It’s only the survey’s second year, but changes were evident as a result of the roller coaster economy, Palmer said.

For example, the technology downturn may have forced younger donors off the list, Palmer said. The youngest top donor in 2001 was 36-year-old Melinda Gates, while the 2000 list included a 26-year-old donor with a computer security business.

"This year we’re kind of back to a little bit more of the traditional people, giving at a later stage of life," Palmer said.

Here are the nation’s top 10 givers in 2001, from a list compiled by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, with the amount they donated or pledged:

1. Gordon and Betty Moore, $6.13 billion

3. James E. and Virginia G. Stowers, $1.12 billion

4. John D. Hollingsworth, Jr., $400 million

5. Eli and Edythe L. Broad, $387.89 million

6. Robert Edward "Ted" Turner, $330.53 million

7. Sidney Kimmel, $260.5 million

8. Lucille Stewart Beeson, $161 million

9. Peter B. Lewis, $118 million

10. Alberto W. Vilar, $116.4 million