It’s important to always give back to society; it humbles a person knowing that what you can attain everyday, hundreds of people elsewhere can’t.
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“We think that’s a basic responsibility of anyone with a lot of money. Once you’ve taken care of yourself and your children, the best use of extra wealth is to give it back to society.” – Bill Gates, GatesNotes.com
Aside from business billionaires, celebrities are also doing their part to donate and give back to the world. Here’s a list to inspire you to pay forward in the future!
1. Jackie Chan
The famous Hong Kong actor, known for his martial arts and self-performed movie stunts is nothing short of generosity. He’s a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and advocates for conservation. He also has his own Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation that aids victims of natural disasters. Jackie has pledged to give half of his fortune away to charities, upon his death.
2. Simon Cowell
“Your legacy has to be that hopefully you gave people an opportunity so that they could do well, and you gave them your time, taught them, what you know.” The music mogul who’s helped formed many famous bands, One Direction, Westlife and Little Mix, said that he won’t be leaving his $350 million fortune to his son. As he doesn’t believe in passing fortune on, from one to another.
3. Chow Yun-Fatt
“You can’t bring the money in your bank account with you after you die,” said the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actor. Who pledges to donate his entire fortune on an estimated $715 million.
4. Andrew Llyod Webber
The infamous composer who’s written notable musicals like The Phantom of The Opera, Evita, and Cats has curated a loaded whap of £750million.
He isn’t a fan of children earning a big sum of money because he’s afraid it’ll lead to them not having an incentive to work. Webber says that he will leave them enough to have a start, but assures that none of them will be inheriting everything.
5. Warren Buffet
Donating $24.5 billion to the Gates Foundation, as well as one of the founders of The Giving Pledge, a campaign that recruits billionaires to commit to philanthropy and donate more than half of their wealth to charities. Buffet has pledged to donate 99% of his personal wealth to charity.
6. Nigella Lawson
The British TV host of “Simply Nigella” and food-writer has donated to causes like Elton John AIDS Foundation, Mary’s Meals and so much more. Although it is not said about how she intends to leave her fortune, it is no secret that she works closely with multiple charities involving cancer. And also, she is determined to not let her children have financial security, in hopes that her kids will understand the hard-work it takes to earn her estimated worth of £15 million.
7. Bill and Melinda Gates
It’s no secret that owner of Microsoft, Bill, and philanthropist, Melinda, have made themselves prominent-figures out of their respective fields. That being said, both of them being founders of The Giving Pledge (alongside Warren Buffet), have pledged to leave a small fraction of their wealthy sum to their kids, and the rest would be going to charities to help cure diseases.
8. Mark and Priscilla Zuckerberg
Co-founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and his wife philanthropist/paediatrician Priscilla Chan may have an estimated net worth of $120 billion. But they have also taken a pledge to donate 99% of their earning to the Zuckerberg Foundation which campaigns for equal opportunity.
Did we miss out anyone of your favourite celebrities and moguls? Let us know in the comments!
Header image credits: The West | People | Hello Magazine | W Magazine