Bloomberg Makes List of America's Most Generous
By JEREMY TANNER wpix.com

5:49 p.m. EST, February 8, 2010
NEW YORK, (WPIX)—
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is one of America's most generous people, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The newspaper ranked Bloomberg fourth on the Philanthropy 50, a list published annually by the publication, naming the most benevolent donors in the country.

According to the newspaper, Bloomberg donated $254 million to more than 1,300 charities in 2009, many of which champion lesser-known causes, such as the six charities that are working to prevent traffic accidents in developing countries.

First on the list of philanthropists are Stanley F. and Fiona B. Druckenmiller, who made the list for the first time with donations totaling $705,000,000 in 2009.

The Druckenmillers are followed by John M. Templeton in second, and Bill and Melinda Gates in third place, with donations of $573,000,000 and $350,000,000, respectively.

Despite the staggering sums, 2009 was evidence that the tough economic times have affected the spending habits of even America's richest people. The total donations from the list -- $4.1 billion -- was the lowest of all past Philanthropy 50 lists, except one, since the it was created in 2000.

The form in which generosity was delivered in 2009 reflected the year's unique challenges -- solving environmental problems and easing the recession often took precedence over the construction of new buildings, for example.

Pierre Omidyar, founder of the online auction service eBay, and his wife, Pam Omidyar, dedicated $50-million to help people in their home state make it through the recession by giving them access government resources, credit counseling, and advice on preventing home foreclosures.

However, many donors are still skeptical, and the overrall trend has been for philanthropists to scale back their generosity. In 2008, you needed to donate over $30 million to make the list, but in 2009 that number shrunk to just $16 million.