Bill Gates and Warren Buffett ushered in a new Gilded Era of philanthropic giving, likened in influence to the Rockefellers and Carnegies. But charity work is about to look very different as higher taxes are threatened on liberal institutions, and new methods of giving are popularized by women mega-donors. MacKenzie Scott has become a pioneer in the cultural shift, gifting more than $200 million to HBCUs and charitable causes in recent months.
TL;DR
- Billionaires committed $600 billion to charity, but large-scale philanthropy like Bill Gates' may end.
- Proposed taxes on liberal foundations could force billionaires to find alternative giving methods.
- MacKenzie Scott pioneers a shift with direct, unrestricted giving, trusting nonprofits.
- Women mega-donors are increasingly taking the lead in philanthropy, changing established practices.
Earlier this year, the world of philanthropy was shaken up when Gates announced that he would be sunsetting his foundation, giving away $200 billion by 2045 and expediting the plan to shed his $100 billion personal fortune.
“There’s an air of anticipation in terms of if and how people are going to follow in his footsteps,” Amir Pasic, dean of the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, told Coins2Day in May.
With the prolific 94-year-old philanthropist Buffett departing from the helm of Berkshire Hathaway stepping down at the year's end, further transformation is anticipated. His Giving Pledge, endorsed by over 250 billionaires from 30 nations, reportedly committing a fund of no less than $600 billion, has encouraged generosity among the wealthiest. However, doubt lingers whether billionaires will continue this commitment and uphold their pledges after Buffett's departure from the initiative's prominent position.
Experts agreed a shift is on the horizon—but that doesn’t mean a screeching halt to philanthropy altogether. In fact, it could open the door for a more diverse group of donors to take the lead.
“We’re likely to see more women come out of the shadows,” Pasic predicted.
The future of philanthropy in a new age
Foundations are a common vehicle for billionaires to direct their charitable giving, yet a recent development in the U.S. House of Representatives could alter this approach. A budget reconciliation package was approved passed this May introduced a 10% tax on foundations holding over $5 billion in assets.
“The reason this is insidious is that it’s going to really hit the big liberal foundations like Gates, Ford, and Soros,” Kathleen McCarthy, director for the center on philanthropy at CUNY, told Coins2Day earlier this year. “Whereas the conservative foundations are much smaller and they will pay a much lower rate.”
Thousands of liberal foundations led by billionaires including Gates, Scott, George Soros, and Mark Zuckerberg could be hit hard by these tax hikes. This could entirely change how billionaires approach philanthropy.
“[Billionaires] will start looking at alternative mechanisms once they realize that they’re going to be forced to sunset foundations,” McCarthy said. “That’s what’s being jeopardized right now.”
But some ultrawealthy donors are already rewriting the rules. Scott’s “stealth giving” practice entails giving unrestricted money directly to nonprofits, trusting them to handle the funds as they see fit, with no strings attached.
McCarthy states that as billionaires abandon the foundation model, they are drawn to different giving methods. This involves adopting Scott's discreet and straightforward donation approach to circumvent new tax regulations.
“I think she’s a trendsetter and sort of moral ballast to the way that Gates has been,” Bella DeVaan, associate director of the charity reform initiative at the Institute for Policy Studies, told Coins2Day. “I do see that being not just a trend, but shifting common sense toward trust-based philanthropy.”
Scott contributes via her Yield Giving foundation, having disbursed over $19.25 billion to 2,450 nonprofits so far, with experts suggesting billionaires might embrace direct giving. DeVaan further anticipated Melinda French Gates will lead the way in philanthropic LLCs, a substitute for conventional foundations.
Philanthropy experts have identified a consistent pattern regarding who is driving innovation in charitable giving and how the typical profile of major donors is evolving: women are taking center stage. With over 200 new billionaires minted in 2024 emerging, averaging almost four weekly, the landscape is seeing an influx of new participants, and a number of women are stepping into possess substantial fortunes. The traditional model of philanthropy is shifting, with women now at the forefront.
Women are increasingly leading the way in philanthropy
When experts are asked to identify the next generation of philanthropic leaders who will succeed figures like Gates and Buffett, a few prominent names consistently emerge. The individual most frequently mentioned is the notably philanthropic MacKenzie Scott.
This past Sunday, historically Black college Howard University shared Scott had donated $80 million—one of the biggest single donations in its 158-year history. In September, Scott also gave $70 million to UNCF, America’s largest private provider of scholarships to Black students, as part of a $1 billion campaign. She’s also fighting Trump’s budget cuts to FEMA, as the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) announced last month it received a $60 million gift from Scott to support struggling communities that are crippled by natural disasters.
“This is a woman making a pretty bold statement about how she’s going to give her money away: by trusting the recipients, and not asking for any reporting back,” Pasic said. “She’s in contrast to the very technocratic way that Bill Gates has approached matters.”
Experts also threw out names like French Gates, who also played a pivotal role in the Gates Foundation and continues to be a leading voice in giving. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are pouring out money to innovate human health. They also note that women have long been benevolent philanthropists, only behind the scenes; Madam C.J. Walker, an African American woman who became the first self-made female millionaire, was a prominent donor at the turn of the 20th century.
By 2025, as U.S. Women gain greater access to wealth and power, this demographic's influence will be amplified.
“You’ll see women becoming much more prominent mega-donors,” McCarthy said. “They’re very comfortable handling money. They’re very comfortable doing research, and they’re looking for ways to change the system.”
A version of this story originally published on Coins2Day.com on May 24, 2025.
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