Bill Gates joins 26 newcomers on list of 50 biggest donors

By MARIA DI MENTO and DREW LINDSAY of The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Chronicle of Philanthropy

As the ranks of America’s super wealthy grow, the roster of major philanthropists is expanding to include not-so-typical megadonors — among them, a professional clarinetist, a Ph.D. in meat science, and a lawyer who regularly argues before the U.S. Supreme Court. That’s according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy analysis of giving by the country’s 50 biggest donors in 2022. Twenty-six of the 50 are new to the Chronicle’s annual ranking, which dates to 2000. That includes Jacklyn Bezos, mother of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who made her debut on the list with her husband, Miguel. The couple gave $710.5 million to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.