• A manufacturing magnate, Wilson passed away at the age of 95 in March and left $1 billion to his family foundation, which works to help homeless and poor families in Buffalo and Detroit.
• This year’s second largest gift year came from Ted Stanley, an 83-year old Connecticut billionaire, who pledged $650 million to support research in mental health. Stanley, who made his fortune selling sports memorabilia and other collectables, has a personal connection to the cause. He told The New York Times that his son, Jonathan, has a bipolar disorder and that medication saved his life.
• Nicholas Woodman, founder of the body-mounted camera company GoPro, gave $500 million to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which makes grants to a variety of causes such as education and immigration.
• Another tech billionaire, Google cofounder Larry Page, 41, made the fifth largest donation of the year. Page gave $177 million in stock to a charity he set up in the name of his father.
• The Morningside Foundation, run by the family of Hong Kong real estate tycoon T.H. Chan, pledged $350 million to the Ivy League university’s School of Public Health. It was the largest gift in Harvard’s history.
• Another notable bequest came from media mogul Barry Diller and his fashion designer wife, Diane von Furstenberg. They pledged $130 million to help build a floating park in New York City’s west side.