These 5 philanthropist have donated an ample portion of their wealth to charity, making them likely the most generous givers in the world.

1. Bill and Melinda Gates, U.S.
Donations: $28 billion Net worth: $66 billion Early on Gates dabbled in different areas, giving
money to Harvard's computer science department, libraries, pilot high schools and local Seattle
charities. His giving really took off in 1999, when he funded his family foundation with $16 billion
in Microsoft stock. Since then, with further contributions from Gates and pal Warren Buffett, the
foundation has become the preeminent philanthropic institution in the world. Among its main
initiatives: It will spend $10 billion on vaccines within the decade, taking on diseases from
malaria to meningitis. In the U.S., education--teacher training in particular--is its main project. In
April his wife Melinda launched an effort to make contraceptives accessible worldwide, pledging
$1.1 billion to the undertaking.

2. Warren Buffett, U.S.
Donations: $17.25 billion Net
worth: $46 billion For many years
Buffett insisted he would give all
his money away at his death, but
not before. He had a change of
heart, and in 2006 made a pledge
to give more than $30 billion over
20 years to the Gates Foundation.
In 2012 he turned over $1.5 billion
worth of Berkshire Hathaway
stock. Perhaps even more notably,
he teamed with Gates in 2010 to
create the Giving Pledge, which
has signed up 92 wealthy
individuals and families to commit
to giving the majority of their
wealth to philanthropy. On his
birthday in August Buffett pledged
$3 billion of stock to his three
children's foundations.

3. George Soros, U.S.
Donations: $8.5 billion Net worth: $19
billion An eclectic giver, Soros has doled
out $8.5 billion since 1979, backing causes
as diverse as clean-needle clinics in
California and scientific research in Russia
to helping the Roma, or Gypsies, in
Eastern Europe. Of the $8.5 billion the
hedge fund legend has given away,
approximately $6 billion has been
dispersed internationally and an estimated
$400 has been dedicated to combating
poverty. Recent initiatives include $150
million for promoting transparency in
governments around the globe and $100
million to overcome barriers faced by
African American boys and men.

4. Gordon Moore, U.S.
Donations: $5 billion Net
worth: $4.8 billion The Intel
co-founder and former CEO
handed over approximately
$5 billion in stock to the
Gordon and Betty Moore
Foundation in 2000. The
foundation focuses on
science, environmental
conservation and nursing
education. The last category
was the brainchild of Moore's
wife's Betty, who once
received the wrong injection
from a nurse in the hospital.
Moore is also partially funding
the construction of the
world's biggest telescope; it's
in Hawaii, where he lives part-
time.

5. Carlos Slim Helú, Mexico
Donations: $4 billion Net worth: $69
billion World's richest man has publicly
stated that he feels more good can be
done from creating jobs than from
band-aid charitable giving. Yet it turns
out he gave $2 billion, mostly from
dividends, to his Carlos Slim
Foundation in 2006, and another $2
billion in 2010. Most of its programs
are focused on digital education and
health. A $100 million gift to the
Clinton Initiative project is helping pay
for 50,000 cataract surgeries in Peru.
With the Gates Foundation and the
government of Spain, the Slim
Foundation is spending $150 million
on nutrition and disease prevention in
Central America.