$15B from Gates, French Gates tops 2021 biggest gift list

By MARIA DI MENTO of The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Chronicle of Philanthropy

It was a healthy year for big gifts to charitable causes in 2021, a year that saw one of the largest multibillion-dollar contributions in more than a decade, according to a Chronicle of Philanthropy tally. The power philanthropists Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates announced in May that they were divorcing and then gave a jaw-dropping $15 billion to their foundation in July. The money will bolster its endowment and support the grant maker’s work in global health, development, policy and advocacy, and U.S. education well into the future. The gift increased the grant maker’s endowment to about $65 billion.