Santa gives away 100 million dollars!
For the inhabitants of a small town nestled on Lake Erie in the northeastern United States, Xmas has come unexpectedly early in the form of a 100-million-dollar gift from an anonymous donor!
According to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and AFP a benefactor identified only as “anonymous friend” made the donation to a group of charitable and non-profit causes in the town of Erie, Pennsylvania. Erie is the state’s fourth-largest city with a population of 104,000. The town could use the money. About 19 per cent of the town’s population are classified as poor — twice the US average. Median household income is $31,196 against $48,451 nationally, and in 2006, it had an estimated 400 homeless people.
 Town of Eire |
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The donor reportedly put no restrictions on how the money should be spent, but the town’s community foundation had decided to give between one and two million dollars to a host of local good causes. The head of the town’s community foundation, Mike Batchelor, told the Tribune-Review he was sworn to secrecy over the donor’s identity, refusing to say even whether the anonymous benefactor was still alive.
But according to the report, local beneficiaries including a food bank for the homeless, a women’s center and a group caring for the blind are more than happy to respect the donor’s wish to remain anonymous.
Biggest givers
The world’s top 5 most generous philanthropists (BusinessWeek’s 2006 ranking)
1 Warren Buffet CEO Berkshire Hathaway $40.7bn estimated lifetime giving to health, education, humanitarian causes
2 Bill and Melinda Gates Microsoft co-founders $28bn to health and development
3 George Soros Investor, $5.9bn to “Open and democratic societies”
4 Gordon and Betty Moore Intel co-founders $7.4bn to Environment, science
5 Herbert and Marion Sandler Golden West financial company co-founders $1.4bn to stem cell research, education
