全球视野 | 捐赠总额下降28%：慈善专家解读美国前50大捐赠人的捐赠的意义与启示

As was the case in 2022, more than one-third of these big gifts – $4.4 billion – went to donors’ personal foundations. Another $764.3 million flowed into donor-advised funds. Also known as DAFs, these charitable savings accounts make it possible for donors to reserve assets such as cash, stocks and bonds for future charitable gifts. 

与2022年的情况一样，这些大额捐赠中有超过三分之一（44亿美元）流向了捐赠人的个人基金会。另有7.643亿美元流入了捐赠人建议基金。这些慈善储蓄账户也被称为DAFs，捐赠人可以将现金、股票和债券等资产储备起来，用于未来的慈善捐赠。

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that a significant amount of the money these wealthy Americans technically gave away in 2023 didn’t get in the hands of charities right away. And while foundations must give away or spend 5% of their assets every year, there are no such requirements for DAFs. 

这并不一定是件坏事，但这确实意味着这些美国富人在2023年捐出的大量资金，并没有立即到达慈善机构的手里。基金会每年必须捐出或花费其资产的5%，但DAFs则没有这样的要求。 

Many of the same wealthy people make this list every time, and they stick with a few main priorities. Media mogul and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, for example, puts a lot of his charitable money into public health. 

每次上榜的都是同一批富豪，而且他们会专注于几个主要的优先事项。比如，媒体大亨、前纽约市市长迈克·布隆伯格就将他的大部分慈善资金，投入了公共卫生领域。

One thing that stands out for me is what’s missing. This list doesn’t include some billionaires known to give significant amounts of money to charity, and it doesn’t reflect all the ways that the wealthiest Americans seek to do good aside from giving to charitable organizations. 

对我来说，一个显著的特点，就是那些缺失的。这个列表没有包括一些众所周知的、给慈善机构捐赠了大量资金的亿万富翁，也没有反映出最富有的美国人除了向慈善机构捐赠之外的所有行善方式。 

The list leaves out anonymous donors, such as the one who in 2023 catapulted the endowment of McPherson, a small college in Kansas, past the $1.5 billion mark. It also omits a very prominent billionaire donor: author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. 

这份名单遗漏了一些匿名捐赠人。比如2023年堪萨斯州一所名为麦克弗森的小学院的捐赠人，这位捐赠人使得该学院的捐赠额突破了15亿美元大关。名单还漏掉了一位非常著名的亿万富翁捐赠人：作家兼慈善家麦肯锡·斯科特。 

Scott openly discusses her giving in periodic essays posted to the internet, including one in December 2023 when she described the more than $2.1 billion she had given in the previous 12 months to 360 nonprofits. 

麦肯锡·斯科特会公开讨论她的捐赠情况，定期在互联网上发布文章。其中包括2023年12月的一篇文章，她在文章中描述了自己在过去12个月中向360个非营利组织捐赠了超过21亿美元。 

However, this sort of self-disclosure doesn’t fit the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s methodology. To avoid counting the same donation twice, it acknowledges only those gifts that go directly to charities or are made to foundations and other intermediaries such as DAFs. Without specific information from Scott or her representatives about which vehicles she uses and how much money she funnels through them each year, they leave her off the list. 

然而，这种自我披露并不符合《慈善纪事报》的计算方法。为了避免重复计算同一笔捐款，《慈善纪事报》只承认那些直接捐给慈善机构的捐赠，或是捐给基金会和其他中介机构（如DAFs）的捐赠。由于没有来自麦肯锡·斯科特或她代表的具体信息，来说明她每年使用的捐款渠道及捐赠资金量。《慈善纪事报》没有把她列入名单。 

Another probable omission is Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world, who leads several companies and designated billions for charity in 2021 and 2022. He has said little about his giving. Details about gifts he’s made to his foundation or other charities usually surface only through mandatory legal filings. Also, Musk has argued that his companies are his best “philanthropy.” 

另一个可能被遗漏的人是埃隆·马斯克。他是世界上最富有的人之一，领导着几家公司，并在2021年和2022年指定了数十亿美元用于慈善。他很少谈及自己的捐赠。关于他向自己的基金会或其他慈善机构捐赠的细节，通常只通过强制性的法律文件披露。此外，马斯克认为他的公司是他最好的“慈善”。 

Similarly, other billionaires who regularly make this list also say they use money to do good in ways beyond the charitable gifts summarized here. 

同样，其他经常出现在这份榜单上的亿万富翁也表示，他们会通过除慈善捐赠以外的方式，来利用资金做善事。 

John Arnold, who made a fortune by starting and running a hedge fund, and his wife, Laura Arnold, as well as Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, often point to ways they pursue their philanthropic goals through for-profit means, as well as through gifts to their foundations and DAFs. They reserve large chunks of their fortunes in limited liability companies, which are private corporations that they use to either make charitable donations or invest in what they believe are socially responsible companies. 

约翰·阿诺德通过创建和运营对冲基金积累了一大笔财富。约翰·阿诺德和妻子劳拉·阿诺德，以及Facebook联合创始人马克·扎克伯格和他的妻子普里西拉·陈经常指出，他们通过营利手段来追求他们的慈善目标，也同时通过向基金会和DAFs捐赠来实现这些目标。他们在有限责任公司中保留了大笔财富，这些私人公司被他们用来进行慈善捐赠，或投资于他们认为具有社会责任感的公司。

Last year, I predicted that Melinda French Gates, the ex-wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, would make the 2023 list and she did. French Gates was the ninth-largest donor of 2023, while her former husband was No. 16. 

去年，我曾预测梅琳达·盖茨（微软联合创始人比尔·盖茨的前妻）将登上2023年的榜单，她确实做到了。梅琳达·盖茨是2023年的第九大捐赠人，而她的前夫则位于第16位。

French Gates has charted her own course by creating Pivotal Ventures, a limited liability company. But she has continued to give primarily by funding the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the biggest private source of funding for international development. 

梅琳达·盖茨已经通过创建有限责任公司Pivotal Ventures ，打开了自己的道路。但她仍主要通过为比尔及梅琳达·盖茨基金会提供资金来进行捐赠。该基金会是国际发展领域最大的私人资金来源。 

French Gates indicated that she plans to branch out with her philanthropy. But she and Bill still co-chair the foundation bearing their names. 

梅琳达·盖茨表示她计划扩大自己的慈善事业。但她和比尔·盖茨仍然共同担任以他们名字命名的基金会的联合主席。

Most donor-advised funds aren’t massive. Only 1% of those accounts held balances of $10 million as of late 2021, according to a recent report. Yet, some of the biggest donors of 2023 deposited far more than that. 

大部分DAFs并不庞大。根据最近的一份报告，截至2021年末，只有1%的DAFs账户余额达到1000万美元。然而，2023年一些最大的捐赠人存入的资金远不止于此。 

Tech executive Michael Dell and his wife, Susan Dell, have infused theirs with $486 million, while Phil Knight, the founder of the athletic apparel and footwear company Nike, and his wife, Penny Knight, placed $104 million in their DAF. Both couples also have their own foundations. 

科技高管迈克尔·戴尔和他的妻子苏珊·戴尔，为他们的DAF注入了4.86亿美元。而运动服装和鞋类公司耐克的创始人菲尔·奈特和他的妻子潘妮·奈特，为他们的DAF注入了1.04亿美元。这两对夫妇也都有自己的基金会。 

I believe it’s worth watching to see whether in the future more of the biggest donors will take this route, rather than creating their own family foundations. 

我认为值得关注的是，未来是否会有更多的大额捐赠人选择这种方式，而不是创建自己的家族基金会。 

One concern is that there is no obligation for donors to disclose gifts they make through DAFs, another difference between them and foundations. 

一个问题是，捐赠人通过DAFs进行捐赠时,没有义务披露他们所做的捐赠。这是它们与基金会之间的另一个区别。 

If more of the biggest donors take the DAF route, rather than forming foundations or giving directly to charities, the public would lose access to information about where philanthropic dollars go. And that could potentially further erode trust in charitable giving and nonprofits. 

如果更多的大额捐赠人采取DAFs的方式，而不是成立基金会或直接向慈善机构捐赠，那么公众将无法获得有关慈善资金去向的信息。这可能会进一步削弱人们对慈善捐赠和非营利组织的信任。

While these gifts are formidable, I still think about those who are not showing up. Only 23 of the top givers are from the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans. 

尽管这些捐赠很令人瞩目，但我仍然关注那些没有出现在捐赠人榜单上的人。在福布斯美国400强富豪榜中，只有23人登上了捐赠人榜单。 

I find it surprising that many of those with the most to give away are outflanked by others’ generosity. Only 13 of the year’s top donors have signed the Giving Pledge, a “promise by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.” This fact leads me to wonder what the long-term plans are for many of the other top donors. 

我感到惊讶的是，许多拥有最多财富可以捐赠的人，却被其他人的慷慨所掩盖。在今年的顶级捐赠人中，只有13人签署了“捐赠誓言”。“捐赠誓言”是“世界上最富有的个人和家庭，承诺将其大部分财富用于慈善事业”的承诺。这一事实让我不禁要问，其他许多顶级捐赠人的长期计划是什么？ 

Will they sign to the Giving Pledge? What makes them willing to give so much today but not commit for tomorrow? 

他们会签署“捐赠誓言”吗？是什么让他们愿意在今天给予如此之多，但却不愿意为明天做出承诺？

Similarly, I’m struck by the lack of diversity in terms of age among the top givers. More than half of them are over 80. Only one person listed among the youngest members of the Forbes 400 list, Zuckerberg, also made the cut. 

同样地，我对捐赠人榜单中，年龄缺乏多样性的情况感到震惊。超过一半的捐赠人年龄在80岁以上。在福布斯美国400强富豪榜最年轻的成员中，也只有马克·扎克伯格一人入选捐赠人榜单。 

Even more intriguing is that, in addition to Zuckerberg, five more of the youngest members of the Forbes 400 have signed the Giving Pledge: Airbnb co-founders Joe Gebbia, Nathan Blecharczyk and Brian Chesky; Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency platform Coinbase; and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. 

更耐人寻味的是：除了扎克伯格，福布斯美国400强富豪榜中，还有五位最年轻的成员也签署了“捐赠誓言”：他们是Airbnb联合创始人乔·吉比亚、内森·布莱沙奇克和布莱恩·切斯基；加密货币平台Coinbase首席执行官布莱恩·阿姆斯特朗；以及Facebook联合创始人达斯汀·莫斯科维茨。 

What makes them willing to commit so much tomorrow but less inclined to give as much today? 

是什么让他们愿意在明天投入那么多，却不愿意在今天付出这么多？

I feel as though this has been stated every four years since I turned 18, but the 2024 U.S. presidential election will be the most consequential in the nation’s history.

我感觉从我18岁开始，每隔四年都会听到这种说法，但是2024年的美国总统选举将是该国历史上最具有影响力的。 

I suspect that in this election cycle, donors are putting more of their philanthropic dollars toward preserving democracy, voter education and the causes that matter to Americans on the left, right and center. 

我猜想，在本轮选举中，捐赠人会将更多的慈善资金投入到维护民主、选民教育以及对美国左、右、中三派都很重要的事业上。 

I expect that most of the biggest gifts will keep going to foundations and DAFs, as well as higher ed and medical causes. That pattern seems to hold steady, regardless of whatever new culture war, political fight or international conflict is in the headlines. 

我预计，大部分最大的捐赠将继续流向基金会和DAFs，以及高等教育和医疗事业。无论头条新闻中出现什么新的文化战争、政治斗争或国际冲突，这种模式似乎会继续保持稳定。 

However, as Angela Logan notes, there are hints that we’ll see more major gifts focused on issues like ethnic conflict, bigotry or racial justice and uplift. One notable example of this in 2023 was the Knights’ $400 million pledge to revive a struggling Black neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. 

然而，正如安吉拉·罗根所指出的，有迹象表明，我们将看到更多的大额捐赠聚焦于种族冲突、偏见或种族正义和提升等问题。2023年，菲尔·奈特认捐4亿美元，用于振兴俄勒冈州波特兰市一个陷入困境的黑人社区，就是一个值得注意的例子。 

But the world of philanthropy can be surprising sometimes. Donors can make choices no one saw coming, and new donors can burst on the scene. With new billionaires emerging at a swift pace, it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen next. 

但慈善世界有时也会出人意料。捐赠人可能做出出人意料的选择，新的捐赠人也可能突然出现。随着新亿万富翁的迅速崛起，很难预测接下来会发生什么。 

Consider, for instance, the news announced in late February 2024 that Ruth Gottesman donated $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. 

例如，2024年2月底宣布的消息称，露丝·戈特曼向布朗克斯区的阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦医学院捐赠了10亿美元。 

Gottesman is a former professor at that medical school. Her husband, David “Sandy” Gottesman, was a billionaire investor who died in 2022 without putting any strings on what she should do with their fortune. This gift broke with some common conventions. 

露丝·戈特曼曾是该医学院的教授。她的丈夫大卫·戈特曼是一位亿万富翁投资人，于2022年去世。大卫·戈特曼没有对露丝如何处置他们的财产提出任何要求。这份捐赠打破了一些常规。 

While she did stipulate that the funds should be be used to make the school tuition-free forever, she didn’t tie the gift to naming rights. She insisted, instead, that the college keep its name. Initially, she even wanted to give the money anonymously. 

虽然她确实规定资金应该用于永久免除学生学费，但她没有将捐款与命名权挂钩。相反，她坚持要求学院保留其名称。最初，她甚至想要匿名捐赠。 

Will other big donors now follow suit? 

现在，其他大额捐赠人会效仿吗？

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