By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Despite being a “dismal” year overall for philanthropic giving, one Manhattan billionaire bucked the trend and gave more than he had in previous years.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $254 million to more than 1,300 charities in 2009 — that’s up 8 percent from 2008 — putting him in fourth place (just after Bill and Melinda Gates) on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of the 50 “most-generous people in America.”
The mayor is worth $17.5 billion, according to Forbes.
His charitable contributions have nearly doubled since he first made the list in 2004 — his second year as mayor — with $138 million in donations.
As the mayor’s public profile has grown, so has the diversity of the recipients of his charity. In early years, educational and medical institutions were the biggest beneficiaries of his largesse. Now, local groups ranging from the Harlem United Community AIDS Center to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum are getting gifts from the mayor.
An unspecified percentage of Bloomberg’s 2009 philanthropic donations went towards a $125 million, five-year pledge the mayor made to charities that aim to reduce traffic accidents in developing countries.
Bernard and Anne Spitzer, parents of disgraced ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, made the list at number 36 with a $25 million donation to City College of New York, where their son taught a political science course.
Financiers Stanley and Fiona Druckenmiller topped this year’s list with $705 million in donations to their family foundation.
