Who Is the Most Generous President?

Our new President Barack Obama has vowed to usher in a new era of service and charity for the American public—and while that sounds wonderful, it got us curious about something. Just how charitable are the American presidents of our time? While they may have the authority to authorize multi-billion dollar donations to various governmental organizations, how much do they give out of their own checkbooks to the causes they care about? We decided to take a look at the tax returns of our new President Obama and the last five presidents before him to see how generous they are in their own lives, and discover where they choose to share their wealth. Here’s what we uncovered.

Though President Barack Obama has just claimed the highest office in the nation, he’s long been interested in community service, previously working as a community organizer. Between 2000 and 2004, the Obamas donated about one percent of their income to charity, but as their fortunes grew, so did their generosity: in 2006, they donated more than $60,000, or six percent of their income to charity. In 2007, the last available records, they donated $240,000 to a variety of charities. Among the Obamas’ favorite organizations? Their former Chicago church, Trinity United Church of Christ; international humanitarian relief group CARE ; and the Illinois Reading Council . To learn more about President Barack Obama’s charity donations from 2000 to 2006, you can view full records on his campaign web site.


While Former President George W. Bush has been criticized for his handling of many domestic and international issues, it’s hard to take a swipe at his sense of philanthropy. In 1991, while a private citizen, Bush donated $28,236 of his $179,591 income to various charities—a generous fifteen percent. After earning $18.4 million in 1998 from selling the Texas Rangers baseball team, he donated $334,425 to charity. The most recent financial data available, from 2007, shows that the Bushes donated 18 percent of their income, $165,660, to charitable organizations including his mother's Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy ; Crawford, Texas’ Volunteer Firefighter Department; the Malaria No More Fund ; Susan G. Komen for the Cure ; and St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. Raise money for these nonprofits and other nonprofits.


Since leaving office in 2001, Former President Bill Clinton has made philanthropy his full-time job. Profiting heavily from book royalties and speaking fees, President Clinton and his wife, new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, elected to establish a charitable organization, the William J. Clinton Foundation , which is dedicated to providing aid and strengthening global connections around the world through programs including an HIV/AIDS initiative, a Climate Change Initiative, and an Urban Enterprise Initiative.

In 2007, President Clinton released a book, On Giving , which shares stories of notable philanthropists and advice on charitable giving, suggesting that people should donate five percent of their income to charity each year. The Clintons have been far more generous than that in recent years, donating $10.2 million of their $109 million income to charity between 2000 and 2007. While the majority of their charitable contributions have gone to the Clinton Foundation, which are then distributed as grants to smaller organizations, they have also made donations to groups including Amnesty International , New York Public Radio (WNYC) , and the American Heart Association.


Like father, like son? Sure thing, as far as the two Bushes are concerned. Former President George Bush Senior ’s tax records show that he and his wife Barbara donated around 8 percent of their income to charity during 1989 and 1990—and a whopping 62 percent, $818,803, in 1991, which was mainly taken from the royalty fees from Barbara Bush’s book, Millie . Bush Senior donated to a wide range of organizations that year, including the American Red Cross , the Salvation Army , the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation , and a $789,176 contribution to the First Lady’s own Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy .

Former President Ronald Reagan may have created a national holiday, National Philanthropy Day (November 19th)—but ironically, he wasn’t a huge charitable supporter himself. Tax records show that Reagan gave just two to three percent of his income to charity in 1981 and 1982, venturing up to six percent in 1985. Reagan appears to be a sentimental giver: the vast majority of his charitable contributions each year went to his alma mater, Illinois' Eureka College . The college now houses a Ronald Reagan museum with more than 10,000 artifacts from Reagan’s life, which he had donated to the school.

Like Bill Clinton, Former President Jimmy Carter has also become well known for his humanitarian work since leaving the White House. Even while acting as President, Carter made some very generous gifts: in 1977, he gave away 20 percent of his income ($38,551) to charitable causes. Over the last 25 years, he’s been the most visible supporter of Habitat for Humanity, devoting a week each year to building houses in remote locations with the organization, and has made many sizeable donations to the cause. With his wife Roslyn, he’s also established the Carter Center , a foundation with a net worth over $135 million, which is dedicated to human rights and justice throughout the world. President Carter also acts as one of “The Elders,” a charitable group chaired by Desmond Tutu, in which influential leaders including Nelson Mandela serve as human rights advocates for some of the world’s most pressing conflicts.