Celebrities Who Gave Away More to Charities Than Most Make in a Lifetime Last Year
There’s no exact number when it comes to what the average Joe across the street makes throughout their lifetime. Let’s just figure for argument’s sake that the average citizen of the United States makes somewhere between $2 and $2.5 million dollars in a lifetime.
That’s not bad when you think about it right? Well, that is, of course, if you’re not comparing yourself to celebrities and athletes. However, if you are a celebrity or athlete and you do make that amount of money in a month do you really need all of it? The answer is NO and some celebrities demonstrate that by donating to charities.
Not to rub it in that the average Joe makes in a lifetime what a lot of celebs make in less than a year, but we’re going to take a look at the celebs who donated more money in the past year or two than the average Joe’s lifetime.
Check them out….
Image via Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
LeBron James
Lebron James took a lot of guff for his Decision special, but what you didn’t see is that LeBron raised more than $2.5 million for the Boys and Girls Club of America during that special. LeBron raised and donated close to $4 million with his charity work over the year plus. Well done, King James.
Image via Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images for ESPY
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift owned 2013 in many ways – one of which was charitable giving. Taylor Swift was the #1 ranked Charitable Celebrity according to DoSomething.org. Swift has raised and donated millions of dollars for quite some time now. She recently dropped $100,000 to the Nashville Symphony. Not exactly a charity, but still she dropped $100k easy.
Image via Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Bono
The U2 front man is connected to 36 charities. Yes, 36. He focuses his charitable efforts on fighting hunger and poverty. Bono has raised millions and millions of dollars for each of his 36 charities and 27 causes he’s connected with and he’s showing no sign of stopping anytime soon.
Image via Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Oprah Winfrey
A report was published in 2010 that Oprah donated over $41 million through her charity the Oprah Winfrey Foundation. $41 million is an absurd number and far beyond the measly $2 million we we discussed in the opening. Oprah has topped the most charitable celebrities for years. No surprise she’s on this list.
Image via Christopher Polk/Getty Images
One Direction
One Direction? Yep. #2 on the 2013 list of most charitable celebrities is the ever-popular boy band. One Direction volunteers a lot of their time doing charity work including a trip to Ghana. They also raised close to a million dollars for cancer research in London.
Image via Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Beyonce
Beyonce is another celebrity that cares deeply for people and spent a lot of her time in 2013 for charity. She’s connected to 23 charities in total including her own Survivor Foundation which she created with Kelly Rowland. She’s done great work with low-income families around the holiday and raised millions for other charities.
Image via Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Paul Walker
The late Paul Walker was known for more than his good looks. Walker was an active public servant. His passing shed light on philanthropic efforts and we will recognize him for his work one more time. He’s co-hosted events and portions of the proceeds from FastĀ & the Furious sales are going to charity.
Image via Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images
Elton John
Elton John is connected to a whopping 48 charities. He’s seen many of his close friends die from HIV/AIDS and has raised millions in an effort against the deadly disease. John is no stranger to hosting fundraisers that generate significant money for his various charities.
Image via Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Prince William & Kate Middleton
The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry was established in 2009 and has raised millions of dollars for various charities. They’ve also established the Royal Wedding Charity Fund to support other causes around the world.
Image via Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Probably one of the more surprising people to find on the list, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis did an amazing job raising money for charity in 2013. The two are aggressively active in the charity world bringing in big bucks for various causes like The Nature Conservancy to Youthcare. Incredible job guys.
Image via Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Giving away money to charity is NOT the same as helping to raise money for charities.
Giving away money to charity is NOT the same as helping to raise money for charities.