Who are the stingiest billionaires of 2021? MacKenzie Scott’s generosity completely outshines ex-husband Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk – and Donald Trump’s nosediving net worth didn’t even make Forbes’ list …

Oct 7 , 2021

MacKenzie Scott outshines Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk when it comes to generosity, while Donald Trump has fallen off Forbes’ top givers list. Photos: AP, AFP

Tech titans Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk made record wealth gains amid Covid-19, but the Forbes Philanthropy Score shows billionaires are giving less to charity than ever

Heartwarming exceptions are found in MacKenzie Scott’s multibillion-dollar giving spree, and Warren Buffett and George Soros’ robust giving pledges

While Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk feud over who is more inventive and who gets to go to space first, the business titans are among a group of billionaires in the running for an even less desirable title: World’s Stingiest Billionaire.

Although the pandemic era’s surging stock market has ballooned the fortunes of billionaires to new heights, the wealthiest people in the world have chosen not to keep pace with their charitable giving, according to the Forbes Philanthropy Score.

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk might be the richest, but they aren’t the most generous billionaires on the planet. Photo: TNS, @elonrmuskk/Instagram

The team at Forbes adds up all of the lifetime “out-the-door” giving a person has made, and divides that number by the sum of their total current wealth and the total giving amount. The results are categorised into five tiers: less than 1 per cent, between 1 and 5 per cent, 5-10 per cent, 10-20 per cent, and more than 20 per cent.

Private foundations and donor-advised funds don’t count for the Forbes measure, since those “donations” effectively remain under the control of the donor – and also come with generous benefits that enable wealthy people to avoid paying taxes.

MacKenzie Scott is known for her impromptu multibillion-dollar donations to charities and racial equity causes, and announced in June that she has gave US$2.7 billion to 286 organizations. It is the third round of major philanthropic gifts Scott has made, which together rival the charitable contributions made by the largest foundations. Photo: Invision/AP

Of the 400 billionaires on this year’s list, just 19 have given away 10 per cent or more of their wealth, while a record high 156 have given less than 1 per cent. While Bezos and Musk have yet to crack out of the 1 per cent, MacKenzie Scott has left them in the dust by giving away 13 per cent of her fortune. Even with her pace of giving, Scott is wealthier now than she was last year.

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, went into space earlier this year. Photo: AP Photo

Bezos did make headlines this summer with US$400 million gifts to the Smithsonian, CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres (to do “what they want” with), and has given US$865 million from his pledge to fight climate change. But his actual gifts are a tiny fraction of the US$22 billion gain he made this year alone, to bring his total net worth to US$190 billion.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have a rounded view of philanthropy. Photo: @marciojmsilva/Twitter

Warren Buffett continued as the list’s most generous giver, having parted with US$4.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock in June to bring his lifetime total to US$44 billion. He’s now halfway through his pledge to give away all his Berkshire shares.