Celebrities make a lot of money. It’s that simple. Most make more money in a year than most people will ever make in a lifetime. This is how they buy their big mansions, fast cars, fancy clothes, and all of their precious diamonds and jewels. With all the money that they have, most people who are famous have more than they know what to do with. This is why many of the nicer celebrities donate their time and money to charity. When it comes to charitable contributions, some celebrities give more than others. Below is a list of the 20 most charitable celebrities and their favorite causes.
George Lucas
There are some celebrities who don’t care much about education. One example is the President of the United States who has already proposed cuts to the country’s already low education budget. There are other celebrities, like George Lucas, who understand the importance of education. When he sold Star Wars to Disney, he vowed to donate $4 billion to education. He started the George Lucas Educational Foundation and has already donated a great deal of money to education even before Star Wars was sold. Education isn’t his only worthy cause. He is also working on a project to donate $200 million to an affordable housing project near his home that includes building 224 homes.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon has made a lot of money over the years starring in hit movies. He has also made a good living on the other side, directing and producing movies. Like many celebrities, Matt has found a cause that is near and dear to his heart, and it is different than most of the common causes that celebrities donate to. Matt’s cause is water. He co-founded a charity called water.org. His charity donates clean drinking water to people who don’t have access to it. He also started a campaign called, “buy a girl a drink.” This charity focuses on getting clean water to women in disadvantage countries. Matt has not only donated a lot of money to his charities, he also donates a great deal of his time.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is much more than just a pretty face. She has used her celebrity to help many worthy causes. For almost a decade, Scarlett was a Oxfam Ambassador. She recently left the organization when they had a difference of opinion over SodaStream. After hurricane Katrina, she donated a lot of money to USA Harvest, who supplied food to the victims. She even went and helped hand out the meals herself. A few years later, she traveled to Rwanda to help out in the AIDS clinics there. She also donated a nice chunk of change. Finally, she worked the the charity Soles4Souls, and she donated over 2,000 pairs of shoes. These are just a few of the many charities that Scarlett donates her time and money to.
Beyonce
Beyonce is an amazing singer and actress. She also has a huge soft spot when it comes to people in need. While she doesn’t brag about her charitable contributions, she makes them often. She started a foundation called #beyGood, which raises money for disadvantaged people. She also works very closely with charities to help the homeless. Like George Lucas, Beyonce understands the importance of education. During her On the Run tour, she took $1 from every ticket bought and she donated it to a higher education program. Chances are there are more charities that Beyonce is affiliated with, she just chooses not to flaunt her generosity.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson was a huge superstar in the 90s. After he did and said a few questionable things, he faded from the spotlight. He didn’t let his problems with his career stop him from giving to people who need it the most. He has donated over $10 million to hospitals who care for sick children at no charge. He also donated $7 million to the Church of the Holy Family. Mel also works very closely with plenty of charities such as Healing the Children, Declare Yourself, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina hasn’t always been the generous philanthropist that she is today. When she was filming scenes for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, she got to see first hand how bad things were in other parts of the world. The struggles in these parts of the area touched her so much that she created the Maddox-Jolie-Pitt Foundation. Her foundation works to end poverty in Cambodia. They also work to protect wildlife and natural resources in the country. Over the years, she has donated over $20 million towards the foundation. She did this with the money that she earned selling photos of her children and her wedding to magazines. She donates much more than her money to worthy causes, she also donates a great deal of her time.
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom is a very caring man and he has shown this by donating his time and money to charity. He is a regular donor to organizations such as the Red Cross, ONE Campaign, and UNICEF. He is also a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador. After the Ebola breakout in Liberia, he was the first celebrity to visit the area. He talked publicly about his time there in hopes of getting others to donate money to the desperate area. His stories of how the children were effected go many more people donating their time and money.
George Clooney
George Clooney is more than a gorgeous man and an amazing actor. He has been a huge contributor to humanitarian efforts for years. George is the co-founder of Not On Our Watch. His charity provides aid to the grief stricken areas of Zimbabwe, Darfur, and Burma. George does many celebrity endorsements, but he doesn’t put the money in his bank account. He donates it all to charity. He has even taken a page from Angelina Jolie’s book, and when he got married, he sold the pictures of his wedding to magazines and he donated all of the proceeds to charity.
Emma Watson
Emma Watson is a strong supporter of women and it isn’t just because she is one. For a few years now, Emma has been a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for Woman. He also started the HeforShe movement, which is designed to ensure that women get paid as much as men. She has taken a great deal of her money and donated it to many charities that fight for women’s rights. Women are not her only cause. She is also a huge supporter of UNICEF. Emma is always getting gifts from her fans. She is always encouraging them to send donations to UNICEF in lieu of sending her gifts. She also donates a good chunk of change to the cause herself.
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen
Many Kate and Ashley Olsen may be young, but their age hasn’t stopped them from being very generous when it comes to charities that they believe in. The twins have donated their time and money to the Fresh Air Fund, which gives inner city kids the chance to experience country life. They have even been honored for their work with this foundation. In 2011, they designed a limited edition purse. Rather than padding their bank account with the proceeds, they donated 100 percent of the proceeds to Pennies From Heaven. It is a charity that supports after school programs for children.
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen works hard for a charity that has had a serious effect on his life. His mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. By the time she turned 60 years old, she was unable to speak and care for herself. She wasn’t even able to recognize her own family. To help raise money for Alzheimer’s research, Seth created Hilarity for Charity. The charity puts on comedy shows and donates the money to the charity. Since he started the charity, it has raised over $1 million.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift is a very busy woman, but she still finds the time to donate millions of dollars to her favorite charity. When she wrote the song Welcome to New York, she agreed to donate all the proceeds from the song to the New York Public School System. Very early on, she had already raised $50,000. She also donates a great deal of her time and money to worthy charities such as UNICEF, the American Red Cross, and Feeding America.
50 Cent
There have been plenty of stories about 50 Cent being a thug and a tough guy. But remember, these are for past infractions. These stories come from people who don’t know all the things that he has done for those less fortunate. He started the G-Unity Foundation, which helps to provide grants to non-profit organizations in poor communities. He has also donated money and is a spokesperson for Feeding America. In 2013, he worked the phones for the BGC Partners Charity Day. He also works hard to feed underprivileged children. He made a vow to donated food to 1 billion children by the end of 2016.
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is a beautiful and generous woman. She has made helping people in developing countries a huge part of her life. She joined a group called Artists for Peace and Justice. The group works to build schools in Haiti. She also helps to provide clean water and food to the people in the area. In 2014, she started a company called Conscious Commerce. The company sells products and a portion of the proceeds are donated to a person in need.
Will.I.Am
Like George Lucas and Scarlett Johansson, Will.i.Am is very dedicated to education. In 2014, he raised $2.4 million for youth education. Over the years, he has given out over $500,000 in scholarship money to needy and deserving individuals. Will has also given back to his hometown of Boyle Heights in East L.A. He founded the group I.Am.Angel Foundation. The group helps to provide education opportunities for the people who live in his hometown who cannot afford an education on their own.
Gisele Bundchen
Gisele is more than a successful supermodel and the wife of the greatest quarterback in the NFL. She also spends a great deal of her time and money giving back to the less fortunate. After the earthquake in Haiti, she donated $1.5 million to the relief effort. She also donated $150,000 to the Zero Hunger initiative in Brazil. Gisele donates a great deal of her time also, especially to I Am African HIV/AIDS campaign. Gisele is a mother and because of that, she became inspired to do work and donate money to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospitals. She also dontates time and money to the homeless during Thanksgiving through the Goodwill.
Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato has had struggles with mental illness over the last few years and these struggles have been very public. Rather than letting this bring her down, she has used her mental illness to bring awareness and to raise money for mental health charities. After the tsunami in Japan, Demi donated $1 million to the relief effort. She has also been donating her time and money to LGBT issues and charities.
Justin Bieber
Justin has gotten a great deal of flack in the media for his antics, but what the media doesn’t understand is that he is still just a kid. Justin has done some very grownup things with his money, however. Over the years, he had fulfilled over 200 wishes for the Make-A-Wish foundation and he donates a great deal of money to the charity every year. He has also donated over a half million dollars to AIDS research. He has also taken a page from Matt Damon’s book and he has been involved with organizations who provide clean drinking water to people around the world. Each year on his birthday his fans love to send him gifts. For the past couple years, he has asked his fans to donate money to charity rather than sending him presents.
John Legend
John Legend has always donated a good portion of the money that he makes to worthy causes. In 2014, he made his music video for the song, You and I. In the video he showcased an organization who works with young girls in underdeveloped areas. Thanks to the increased awareness, the charity earned close to $500,000. His Show Me campaign raised money for higher education in 2007.
John Cena
John Cena is an amazing wrestler, he’s a great actor, and he is a philanthropist. He is very active with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He is their most requested celebrity and he has made over 400 wishes come true in the 10 years that he has been working with the foundation. He doesn’t only dedicate this time to the charity, he also donates a great deal of money as well.
Many celebrities donate their time and money to very worthy causes. Some donate more than others. Regardless of how much or how little they give, in a world where there are so many people who need so much, every little bit that these people give is something.
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