John Walton
John Walton was a son of Walmart founder Sam Walton. He used his multibillion-dollar inheritance to lead and champion some of the most effective educational reforms of the early 21st Read more…
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John Templeton
One of the world’s most successful mutual-fund managers, John Templeton eventually dedicated much of his money and energy toward funding research into the relationships between two of his deepest fascinations: Read more…
William Volker
William Volker made his fortune manufacturing home furnishings, and dedicated the overwhelming majority of that fortune to charity. He gave generously to causes and institutions throughout his adopted hometown of Read more…
Harry Earhart
Harry Boyd Earhart made his fortune as a manufacturer of lubricating oils, and used that fortune to support some of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century through his Read more…
J. P. Morgan
John Pierpont Morgan ranks among the preeminent financiers in American history. He was born in 1837 and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, heir to two of New England’s most distinguished families. Read more…
Raymond Orteig
Raymond Orteig was an early twentieth century French-American hotelier, aviation enthusiast, and philanthropist. The scale of his charitable giving was not especially impressive; in fact, it was dwarfed by that Read more…
Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly transformed a sleepy family business into a pharmaceutical powerhouse, proving along the way that economic pragmatism and generosity are often complementary. Eli’s namesake grandfather—called “Colonel Lilly” for his Read more…
Andrew Mellon
Andrew Mellon was one of the most prominent financiers in American history. Mellon investments helped launch the aluminum, coke, and carborundum industries; by the 1920s, he paid the third-highest income Read more…
Judah Touro
Judah Touro was a leading merchant and philanthropist during the early days of our nation, known for benefactions throughout the country, but especially in Louisiana and Rhode Island. Born in Read more…
George Washington
George Washington was, according to Henry “Light-horse Harry” Lee, “first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Although it is much less well known, Washington Read more…
Sebastian Kresge
Sebastian Kresge was among the most successful retailers in American history. The founder of what would become the K-Mart chain of discount stores, he was also an accomplished philanthropist who Read more…
Isaiah Williamson
Isaiah Williamson was born on February 4, 1803, near Bensalem Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The son of devout Quakers, he was one of eight children, a farm boy who Read more…
Nettie Fowler McCormick
Nancy (“Nettie”) Fowler McCormick never expected to lead a life of ease. Orphaned at age 7, she learned early in life to make the most of her days. Such firm Read more…
Zachary Fisher
Zachary Fisher, with his brothers Martin and Larry, built a fortune as a real estate developer in New York City. That fortune has since been devoted to a wide variety Read more…
Margaret Olivia Sage
Margaret Olivia Sage was the widow of Russell Sage, among the greatest Wall Street investors of the 19th century. When the 89-year-old financier died in 1906, he instantly made her Read more…
Ellen Browning Scripps
Ellen Browning Scripps, whose fortune derived from the Scripps family’s newspaper empire, is not well known outside of southern California, largely because she confined her extensive philanthropy to local causes. Read more…
Mary Garrett
Mary Elizabeth Garrett ranks among the nation’s most significant benefactors of higher education for women. Born in 1853 to wealth and privilege, Garrett was the third child (and only daughter) Read more…
Ima Hogg
Ima Hogg ranks among the best-known and most admired philanthropists in the history of Texas. For much of her life, she was affectionately known as the “First Lady of Texas,” Read more…
J. Howard Pew
John Howard Pew was a successful oil entrepreneur who dedicated his philanthropy to serving the Presbyterian Church, funding higher education, and advancing the principles of a free society. Born into Read more…
Madam C. J. Walker
Madam C. J. Walker ranks among the greatest African-American philanthropists in the nation’s history. When she died in 1919, Walker was widely eulogized as the first woman to become a Read more…