Early on, he founded massive trusts, endowments, and institutions covering all manner of arts, science, educational, and peace initiatives.
Since 2001, though, the Carnegie Corporation, the magnate’s original grant making foundation, has convened with over 20 associated Carnegie organizations to choose a class of Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recipients.
The goal is to honor those who continue to embody that ideal of strategic giving, and inspire more of their peers to do so.
The 2017 honorees, which were just announced, include nine medal recipients from eight different initiatives (one is being worked on by a couple).
Each institution can nominate candidates with a seven-person committee made up of several core Carnegie groups—Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace—and a rotating cast of others eventually choosing the winner.
In 2005, her company founded the first private corporate philanthropy group in China, the HeungKong Charitable Foundation, which works to improve education, alleviate poverty, and provide rescue and disaster relief.
Since then, he and his wife, Marguerite, a former elementary school teacher, have committed all of their money to charitable work, primarily through the Lenfest Foundation, which works on education reform.
Azim Premji (India): Premji runs Wipro Limited, a former hydrogenated cooking fat company that, over the last several decades, transitioned into an $8.5 billion international IT, consulting, and outsourcing group.
In 1996, he and his wife, Jose, founded the Robertson Foundation, which makes impact-driven grants in education, the environment, and medical advancements.
He runs the Jeff Skoll Group, which has invested various companies and foundations to battle inequality, boost economic opportunity, and protect the environment.