Slate 60′ Recognizes Most Generous Philanthropists of 2007

Slate magazine has announced its list of the sixty Americans who gave the most to charity in 2007, with hotel and real estate magnates Leona Helmsley and Barron Hilton topping the list.

Helmsley, who died last year, bequeathed an estate estimated to be worth more than $4 billion to the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, while Hilton, who completed the sale of the Hilton Hotels Corporation and Harrah’s Entertainment in December, earned the number-two spot list thanks to his $1.2 billion pledge to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. This was the first appearance on the list for either Helmsley or Hilton.

As in the past, hospitals, medical schools, and medical research continued to be a popular choice for deep-pocketed philanthropists. Salt Lake City couple Jon and Karen Huntsman secured the number-three spot on the list by donating $627 million to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, the Utah Department of Health, and Utah State University to begin an awareness campaign about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and to provide low-cost vaccines to eligible women, while South Dakota businessman T. Denny Sanford made the list for the third consecutive year with a gift of $431 million to create five pediatric clinics around the country and link the clinics with research being done at a new Sioux Falls children’s hospital. Colleges and universities also made out well, with John W. Kluge ($400 million), Sandy and Joan Weill ($328.5 million), and Robert A. Day ($200 million) making the top ten in large part because of gifts to Columbia University, Cornell University, and Claremont McKenna College, respectively.

It also was harder to make the list in 2007 than in years past. For the second straight year, donors had to give at least $30 million to qualify, as the median gift jumped to $75 million, from $60 million in 2006 and $32.5 million in 2005.

To view or download the completelist, visit the Slate Web site.

Larimore, Rachael. “The 2007 Slate 60.” Slate Magazine 2/11/08.

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