Despite Decreased Wealth, Donations Increased... US Super Rich Donate 33 Trillion Won

25 Signatories, Record High Donations Last Year
Warren Buffett's Cumulative Donations Reach 63 Trillion Won

The top 25 wealthiest individuals in the United States donated a record-breaking amount to charities last year. Despite a decline in the net worth of billionaires due to the sluggish U.S. stock market, they contributed even more in donations.

According to the U.S. economic media outlet Forbes, the total amount donated by the top 25 U.S. billionaires to charities last year was $27 billion (approximately 33 trillion KRW). This surpasses the $20 billion (approximately 24.6 trillion KRW) donated by the top 25 donors over the two years from 2020 to 2021.

Especially notable is that last year, despite the overall poor performance of the U.S. stock market, the billionaires' "generous donations" were even more remarkable. According to the media, the net worth of U.S. billionaires fell by about 15% last year, yet their donations increased significantly.

Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway / Photo by Yonhap News

Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, known by nicknames such as "Investment Genius" and "Sage of Omaha," donated a total of $5.4 billion (approximately 6.6 trillion KRW) in 2022. The total amount Buffett has donated to date reaches $51.5 billion (approximately 63 trillion KRW), making him the individual who has donated the most in the United States.

Buffett has long stated that he intends to donate nearly all of his wealth. In 2006, he pledged to give away more than 99% of his wealth either during his lifetime or upon his death, and since then, he has donated about 5% of his stock holdings annually.

He is also a co-founder of The Giving Pledge, a philanthropic campaign involving the wealthiest Americans.

Meanwhile, Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, followed Buffett by donating more than $5 billion (approximately 6 trillion KRW). The cumulative donations from Bill and Melinda Gates amount to $38.4 billion (approximately 47 trillion KRW), an astronomical sum.

Since 2019, Mackenzie Scott, ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, who received corporate shares worth about 40 trillion KRW through their so-called "divorce of the century," has donated a total of $14.4 billion (approximately 17.7 trillion KRW) from the year of their divorce in 2019 through last year.