Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg walks with his wife Priscilla Chan.
Photographs: Rick Wilking/Reuters

Since Bill Gates and Warren Buffett made The Giving Pledge campaign public, philanthropy has come to the limelight.

These two men managed to pursue over 81 billionaires to commit at least half of their fortunes to charity four years back. Since then, the list has been constantly expanding.

Let’s take a look at some of these wealthy families that are giving away their fortune to save the planet.

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Tags: Warren Buffett , Bill Gates , Giving Pledge

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates and his wife Melinda.
Photographs: Reuters

Bill & Melinda Gates

Rank: 1

Net worth: $74 billion

Total giving 2012: $1.9 billion (2.6 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $28 billion

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Warren Buffett, co-chair of the 10,000 Small Businesses Advisory Council, takes part in a panel discussion.
Photographs: Rebecca Cook/Reuters

Warren Buffett

Rank: 2

Net worth: $58.7 billion

Total giving 2012: $1.87 billion (3.2 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $25 billion

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Tags: Warren Buffett

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: George Soros, chairman of the Soros Fund Management and Open Society, gestures during a speech at Peking University in Beijing.
Photographs: Reuters

George Soros

Rank: 3

Net worth: $20 billion

Total giving 2012: $763 million (3.2 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $10 billion

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Tags: George Soros

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Photographs: Rick Wilkin/Reuters

Mark Zuckerberg

Rank: 4

Net worth: $23.4 billion

Total giving 2012: $519 million (2.2 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $549 million

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Tags: Mark Zuckerberg

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Wal-Mart Stores family members (L - R) Jim Walton, Alice Walton and Chairman of the Board of Directors Rob Walton recite the Walmart cheer at the annual shareholders meeting.
Photographs: Rick Wilking/Reuters

Walton Family

Rank: 5

Net worth: $144.4 billion

Total giving 2012: $432 million (0.3 per cent% of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $4.6 billion

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Tags: Walton

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad (L) and his wife Edythe Broad attend the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)'s 35th Anniversary Gala.
Photographs: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters

Eli & Edythe Broad

Rank: 6

Net worth: $6.9 billion

Total giving 2012: $376 million ($5.5 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $3.5 billion

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Michael Bloomberg (R) speaks alongside New York City Health Commissioner Thomas A. Farley at a news conference.
Photographs: Mike Segar/Reuters

Michael Bloomberg

Rank: 7

Net worth: $31 billion

Total giving 2012: $370 million (1.2 per cent of net worth

Lifetime giving: $2.4 billion

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Tags: Michael Bloomberg

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen waves during lunch at the Allen and Co. conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Idaho.
Photographs: Rick Wilking/Reuters

Paul Allen

Rank: 8

Net worth: $15.9 billion

Total giving 2012: $327.7 million (2.1 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $2 billion

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Tags: Paul Allen

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Chuck Feeney.
Photographs: Courtesy, University of California San Francisco

Chuck Feeney

Rank: 9

Net worth: $2 million

Total giving 2012: $313 million (15,650 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $6.3 billion

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Tags: Chuck Feeney

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Gordon & Betty Moore.
Photographs: Courtesy, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Gordon & Betty Moore

Rank: 10

Net worth: $4.9 billion

Total giving 2012: $250.5 million (5.1 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $2.3 billion

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Martha Stewart and James Simons, chairman and founder of Renaissance Technologies.
Photographs: Cindy Ord/Getty Images

James & Marilyn Simons

Rank: 11

Net worth: $12 billion

Total giving 2012: $213 million (1.8 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: N/A

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: John & Laura Arnold.
Photographs: Courtesy, John and Laura Arnold Foundation

John & Laura Arnold

Rank: 12

Net worth: $2.8 billion

Total giving 2012: $204.4 million (7.2 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $340.1 million

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn gives an interview.
Photographs: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Carl Icahn

Rank: 13

Net worth: $20.3 billion

Total giving 2012: $200 million (1 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: N/A

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Tags: Carl Icahn

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: David Koch attends the Metropolitan Opera Season Opening Production Of 'Eugene Onegin'.
Photographs: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

David Koch

Rank: 14

Net worth: $36 billion

Total giving 2012: $169 million (0.5 per% of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $1.2 billion

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Tags: David Koch

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Julian Robertson Jr.
Photographs: Courtesy, The University of North Carolinaa Chapel Hill

Julian Robertson Jr.

Rank: 15

Net worth: $3.1 billion

Total giving 2012: $145.8 million (4.7 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $1 billion

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Tags: Julian Robertson

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Las Vegas gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam Adelson.
Photographs: Mike Segar/Reuters

Sheldon & Dr. Miriam Adelson

Rank: 16

Net worth: $34 billion

Total giving 2012: $144.8 million (4.7 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $469.5 million

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Stephen Bechtel, Jr.
Photographs: Courtesy, Bechtel Corporation

Stephen Bechtel, Jr

Rank: 17

Net worth: $3.4 billion

Total giving 2012: $102.5 million (3 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $316.6 million

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Tags: Stephen Bechtel

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Dell CEO Michael Dell delivers a keynote address during the 2010 Oracle Open World conference.
Photographs: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Michael & Susan Dell

Rank: 18

Net worth: $15.9 billion

Total giving 2012: $100 million (0.6 per cent net worth)

Lifetime giving: $914.4 million

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Hansjorg Wyss.
Photographs: Courtesy, Harvard University

Hansjorg Wyss

Rank: 19

Net worth: $10 billion

Total giving 2012: $93 million (0.9 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $470 million

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Tags: Hansjorg Wyss

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Wayne Weaver and his wife, Delores Barr Weaver.
Photographs: Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

J. Wayne & Delores Barr Weaver

Rank: 20

Net worth: N/A

Total giving 2012: $91 million

Lifetime giving: $145 million

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: William Barron Hilton.
Photographs: Deveram/Wikimedia Commons

William Barron Hilton

Rank: 21

Net worth: $800 million

Total giving 2012: $83 million (10.4 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $1 billion

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Tags: William Barron Hilton

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Jon Sr. & Karen Huntsman.
Photographs: Courtesy, The Univeristy of Utah

Jon Sr. & Karen Huntsman

Rank: 22

Net worth: $1.1 billion

Total giving 2012: $76.8 million (7 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $1.3 billion

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Steve Cohen at an exhibition.
Photographs: Anthony Behar/Getty Images

Steve & Alexandra Cohen

Rank: 23

Net worth: $9.3 billion

Total giving 2012: $76.2 million (0.8 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $312.9 million

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Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: George Kaiser.
Photographs: Courtesy, George Kaiser family foundation.

George Kaiser

Rank: 24

Net worth: $10 billion

Total giving 2012: $72 million (0.7 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $525 million

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Tags: George Kaiser

Billionaires with a heart of gold

Image: Pierre Omidyar and Pamela Omidyar attend the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy 10th Anniversary Award ceremony.
Photographs: Dario Cantatore/Getty Images

Pierre & Pamela Omidyar

Rank: 25

Net worth: $8.4 billion

Total giving 2012: $69 million (0.8 per cent of net worth)

Lifetime giving: $1 billion

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