1. Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust
ROBERT WILSON, 80
Robert Wilson Associates (hedge fund)
Latest year's giving: $52.5 million
Trust's assets: $166.9 million
Wilson wants to help preserve the natural world with huge gifts to the Nature Conservancy ($22 million), Wildlife Conservation Society ($13.6 million), and Environmental Defense ($6.6 million). (Read an interview with Wilson.)
Bonus fact: Gave $50 to Friends of Terra Cotta, a nonprofit focused on the preservation of—you guessed it—terra-cotta.

2. John Templeton Foundation
JOHN TEMPLETON, 96
Franklin Templeton Funds (mutual fund)
Giving: $44.3 million
Assets: $1.08 billion
His foundation is aimed at exploring the nexus of science and spirituality, thus gifts like the $3.6 million to the International Society for Science and Religion, which promotes dialogue between science and religion, and $2 million to the Spiritual Enterprise Institute, which focuses on the intersection of business and spirituality.
Bonus fact: The foundation awards a $1.6 million annual prize for contributions to planetary spiritual progress.

3. Simons Foundation
JIM SIMONS, 69
Renaissance Technologies (hedge fund)
Giving: $33 million
Assets: $477 million
A math-geek billionaire, Simons donates to both math and science causes as well as to autism research. The foundation gave $14 million to the State University of New York at Stony Brook, where Simons was once chairman of the math department.

4. Robertson Foundations
JULIAN ROBERTSON, 75
Tiger Management (hedge fund)
Giving: $32 million
Assets: $703.2 million
Robertson frequently focuses on education. His foundations recently donated $3 million to the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence.

5. Weill Family Foundation
SANDY WEILL, 74
Citigroup (commercial bank)
Giving: $26.4 million
Assets: $212.9 million
We all know Weill likes Carnegie Hall ($1.7 million), but he must love Cornell University ($24.6 million), his alma mater.
Bonus fact: Weill's foundation has been operating since 1967.

6. Mandel Foundations
STEVE MANDEL, 51
Lone Pine Capital (hedge fund)
Giving: $26 million
Assets: $147.2 million
Mandel gives a lot to education causes, usually in increments of $150,000 or less, but he ponies up big-time as well: Note an $18.5 million donation to the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund.

7. Soros Family Foundations
GEORGE SOROS, 77
Soros Fund Management (hedge fund)
Giving: $19.1 million
Assets: $248 million
Soros gives a lot, to a lot of causes. Recent large grants include $300,000 each to the University of Pennsylvania and the Eule Charitable Foundation.
Bonus fact: Soros' Open Society Institute, which focuses on public policy, has $859 million in assets and donated $78.4 million in its latest year.

8. Edward C. Johnson Fund
NED JOHNSON, 77
Fidelity Investments (mutual fund)
Giving: $17.5 million
Assets: $371.3 million
Johnson funds many grants for art and museums. The biggest: an $8.6 million donation to the Brookfield Arts Foundation, in Massachusetts.
Bonus fact: Gave $1 million to the Boston Common Frog Pond Foundation. The pond doubles as a public skating rink in winter.

9. Steinhardt Foundations
MICHAEL STEINHARDT, 67
WisdomTree Investments
Formerly of Steinhardt Fine Berkowitz & Co. (hedge fund)
Giving: $15.1 million
Assets: $3.1 million
Steinhardt supports a variety of Jewish causes, including Birthright Israel ($1.5 million), and has made a sizable contribution to New York University ($2.6 million).

10. Kravis Family Foundations
HENRY KRAVIS, 63
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (private equity)
Giving: $12.8 million
Assets: $78.4 million
Establishment, anyone? Kravis contributes to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Philharmonic, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and Carnegie Hall. Also, several million has gone to the Robin Hood Foundation, which fights poverty in New York City.

11. Poplar Foundation
MASON HAWKINS, 59
Longleaf Partners Funds (money management)
Giving: $12.6 million
Assets: $93.7 million
Hawkins gives to many Christian causes and churches, including $3 million to the Memphis-based Hope Christian Community Foundation.
Bonus fact: The only Tennessee foundation on the list.

12. Icahn Foundations
CARL ICAHN, 71
Icahn Partners (hedge fund)
Giving: $11.2 million
Assets: $10.5 million. Icahn bestows large gifts. He donated $5 million to Princeton University, $4.3 million to Mount Sinai Medical Center, and $1.5 million to build a stadium on Randalls Island, in New York City.
Bonus fact: Icahn Stadium opened on Randalls Island in 2005 and contains one of the top running tracks in the U.S.

13. Kovner Foundations
BRUCE KOVNER, 62
Caxton Associates (hedge fund)
Giving: $9.2 million
Assets: $46.5 million
Kovner is a music man. Recent gift recipients include the Juilliard School ($4.5 million) and the Brooklyn Academy of Music ($2 million).
Bonus fact: Last year, Kovner, chairman of Juilliard, gave a collection of 140 rare music manuscripts to the renowned conservatory.

14. Christy and John Mack Foundation
JOHN MACK, 63
Morgan Stanley (investment bank)
Giving: $9.1 million
Assets: $32.8 million
The Macks aim to keep us smart and healthy, with donations to Duke University ($4.8 million) and the New York-Presbyterian Hospital ($1.3 million).
Bonus fact: They gave $50,000 to WNET Channel 13, New York City's PBS station.

15. Englander Foundation
IZZY ENGLANDER, 59
Millennium Partners (hedge fund)
Giving: $8.8 million
Assets: $17.7 million
Englander favors Brooklyn Jewish causes, such as Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin ($1.7 million), the oldest yeshiva in the borough.

16. G. and E. Dubin Family Foundation
GLENN DUBIN, 50
Highbridge Capital (hedge fund)
Giving: $8.1 million
Assets: $9.7 million
The Dubins are focused on helping the poor, contributing more than $7 million to the Robin Hood Foundation.

17. Steven A. and Alexandra M. Cohen Foundation
STEVE COHEN, 50
SAC Capital Advisors (hedge fund)
Giving: $8 million
Assets: $6.1 million
Devoted to health-related causes, the Cohens made donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation ($1.4 million) and Greenwich Hospital ($1.2 million), in Connecticut.
Bonus fact: The Cohens gave $50,000 to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

18. Bobolink Foundation
HANK PAULSON, 61
Secretary of the Treasury
Formerly of Goldman Sachs (investment bank)
Giving: $7.5 million
Assets: $105 million
Paulson is either in the forest or in the pews. Recent gifts include $2.1 million to the Nature Conservancy and $1.5 million to the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston.

19. Klarman Family Foundation
SETH KLARMAN, 50
Baupost Group (hedge fund)
Giving: $7.4 million
Assets: $105.8 million
As with others, Klarman likes his Boston causes, including the city's Combined Jewish Philanthropies ($1 million).

20. Perelman Family Foundation
RON PERELMAN, 64
MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings (private equity)
Giving: $6.7 million
Assets: $53,764
Gives to New York institutions like Carnegie Hall ($1.8 million) and causes like the New York University Child Study Center ($1 million).
Bonus fact: A raft of Perelmans—Debra G., Hope G., Joshua G., and Steven G.—serve as officers of the foundation.

21. Weinberg Family Foundations
JOHN AND PETER WEINBERG, 49 and 48
Goldman Sachs/Perella (investment bank)
Giving: $6.4 million
Assets: $118.8 million
The Weinbergs are Goldman Sachs royalty and count four different family foundations among them. Many gifts go to health organizations like New York-Presbyterian Hospital (more than $600,000).

22. Raether 1985 Charitable Trust
PAUL RAETHER, 45
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (private equity)
Giving: $6.2 million
Assets: $33.1 million
Raether makes substantial contributions to Connecticut's Trinity College, including more than $2 million in 2004.
Bonus fact: This guy must love skiing, because he's donated to both the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation ($534,000) and the Stratton Mountain School ($1,000).

23. Corzine Foundations
JON CORZINE, 60
Governor of New Jersey
Formerly of Goldman Sachs (investment bank)
Giving: $6.2 million
Assets: $20 million
As would befit a governor of the Garden State, the majority of causes Corzine supports are located there, including the New Jersey Performing Arts Center ($500,000) and David G. Evans Ministries ($500,000).
Bonus fact: Corzine's ex-wife, Joanne, runs one of these foundations, with about $6 million in assets.

24. Alan B. Slifka Foundation
ALAN SLIFKA, 78
Halcyon/Alan B. Slifka Management (hedge fund)
Giving: $5.4 million
Assets: $13.6 million
Gave more than $850,000 to the Jewish Center of the Hamptons and $500,000 to Hillel of Greater Philadelphia.

25. Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment
KEITH CAMPBELL, 45
Campbell & Co. (hedge fund)
Giving: $5.1 million
Assets: $121.8 million
Campbell concentrates almost exclusively on environmental causes in and around Maryland, including several Chesapeake Bay Foundations ($2.2 million).

26. Samberg Foundations
ARTHUR SAMBERG, 66
Pequot Capital (hedge fund)
Giving: $5 million
Assets: $82.9 million
Samberg contributes to the Harlem Children's Zone ($1 million), which focuses on improving the quality of life for disadvantaged children and their families in New York City, and several Jewish causes, including the U.J.A.-Federation ($700,000).

27. Dalio Family Foundation
RAY DALIO, 58
Bridgewater Associates (hedge fund)
Giving: $4.9 million
Assets: $20.4 million
Dalio gives to a wide range of recipients, from the Robin Hood Foundation ($1.1 million) to Ducks Unlimited ($250,000), a nonprofit dedicated to preserving wetlands and waterfowl.
Bonus fact: The foundation donates to Maharishi University of Management ($1 million), which teaches meditation to inner-city kids.

28. Johnson Family Foundations
CHARLES AND RUPERT JOHNSON, 74 and 65
Franklin Resources (mutual fund)
Giving: $4.6 million
Assets: $208.3 million
There's a West Coast bent to the Johnsons' largesse, from the California Academy of Sciences ($1.2 million) to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco ($50,000).
Bonus fact: This is the "other" Johnson mutual-fund family (not the one from Fidelity).

29. Barakett Foundations
TIMOTHY AND BRETT BARAKETT, both 41
Atticus Capital, Tremblant Capital (hedge funds)
Giving: $4.6 million
Assets: $2.8 million
Timothy donated $1 million to the Robin Hood Foundation, and Brett gave $10,000 to the New York Heart Association.

30. Jacobson Family Trust Foundation
JONATHAN JACOBSON, 44
Highfields Capital (hedge fund)
Giving: $4.4 million
Assets: $76.2 million
Jacobson's giving concentrates on Massachusetts charities like the Combined Jewish Philanthropies ($1.2 million), in Boston.

31. Chilton Foundation
RICHARD CHILTON, 49
Chilton Investments (hedge fund)
Giving: $4.4 million
Assets: $19.4 million
Chilton is another fan of the Robin Hood Foundation: He made a $1.5 million gift to it.

32. Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation
CHARLES SCHWAB, 70
Charles Schwab & Co. (brokerage)
Giving: $4.3 million
Assets: $215.3 million. A West Coaster, Schwab supports many California causes. For example, the couple gave $487,000 to the Emergency Housing Consortium of Santa Clara.

33. Driehaus Foundations
RICHARD DRIEHAUS, 65
Driehaus Capital Management (money management)
Giving: $4.2 million
Assets: $103.1 million
Driehaus donates mainly to Chicago visual-arts organizations, theaters, and dance companies, including the Richard H. Driehaus Museum ($1 million).
Bonus fact: His foundations make matching grants with the MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture.

34. Castelnau Foundation
JOHN MICHAEL EVANS, 50
Goldman Sachs (investment bank)
Giving: $4.1 million
Assets: $3.7 million
Evans funds education ($1.3 million to Princeton, his alma mater) and aids the poor ($50,000 to the Robin Hood Foundation).
Bonus fact: Castelnau recently gave $10,000 to the storied literary magazine the Paris Review.

35. Vinik Family Foundation
JEFF VINIK, 48
Vinik Asset Management (hedge fund)
Giving: $4 million
Assets: $81.1 million
Vinik is all about Massachusetts; he gave $5,000 to the New England Aquarium and $50,000 to the Red Sox Foundation.

36. Leon and Toby Cooperman Family Foundation
LEON COOPERMAN, 64
Omega Advisors (hedge fund)
Giving: $3.7 million
Assets: $151.4 million
Keeping us healthy and wise: Cooperman made gifts of $1 million to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America and $1.7 million to Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

37. Moore Charitable Foundation
LOUIS BACON, 51
Moore Capital Management (hedge fund)
Giving: $3.5 million
Assets: $30.9 million
The Moore Foundation donates substantially to environmental causes like the Peconic Land Trust, which preserves farmland on Long Island ($117,000), and Riverkeeper ($67,000), which works to protect the nation's waterways.
Bonus fact: Bacon has some downtown cred. He gave $1,000 to the theater troupe Naked Angels, artistic home to the likes of Matthew Broderick, Marisa Tomei, and Missy Yager.

38. Mark and Anla Cheng Kingdon Foundation
MARK KINGDON, 65
Kingdon Capital (hedge fund)
Giving: $3.5 million
Assets: $69.6 million
Near and far: Kingdon gave nearly $1 million to the Harlem Children's Zone, as well as $25,000 to American Friends of the Shanghai Museum.

39. Greenhill Family Foundation
ROBERT GREENHILL, 71
Greenhill & Co. (investment bank)
Giving: $3.4 million
Assets: $3.2 million
Photo op: Greenhill donated $1 million to the International Center of Photography in New York.

40. Pincus Family Fund
LIONEL PINCUS, 76
Warburg Pincus (private equity)
Giving: $3.1 million
Assets: $25.3 million
Keeping it local: Recent gifts include $1 million to Columbia Business School and $1 million to New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

41. James E. and Patricia D. Cayne Charitable Trust
JAMES CAYNE, 73
Bear Stearns (investment bank)
Giving: $3.1 million
Assets: $24.5 million
Cayne gives mostly to Jewish organizations, including the U.J.A.-Federation of New York ($450,000) and the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County ($300,000), in New Jersey.
Bonus fact: He donated $3,000 to the School of American Ballet.

42. Daniel M. Neidich and Brooke Garber Foundation
DANIEL NEIDICH, 55
Goldman Sachs (investment bank)
Giving: $3 million
Assets: A $12.3 million establishment man, Neidich bestowed gifts on the Whitney Museum of American Art ($536,408), Brown University ($400,000), Lincoln Center Theater ($99,220), and the Chapin School ($14,760).

43. Thornton Foundation
JOHN THORNTON, 57
Goldman Sachs (investment bank)
Giving: $3 million
Assets: $7.9 million
Thornton favors Asian causes, including the Asia Society ($111,000), which educates Americans about Asia.

44. Edward John and Patricia Rosenwald Foundation
EDWARD ROSENWALD, 77
Bear Stearns (investment bank)
Giving: $2.8 million
Assets: $9.4 million
Teacher's pet: Rosenwald frequently contributes to such prestigious educational institutions as Dartmouth College ($575,000), Brandeis University, Deerfield Academy, Harvard University, and Vassar College.

45. Blood Family Foundation
DAVID BLOOD, 48
Goldman Sachs (investment bank)
Giving: $2.7 million
Assets: $10.7 million
In addition to a $1 million gift to Support and Help in Education, which is based in London, Blood has made donations to Georgetown University and Harvard.