Celebrities, whether they be actors, musicians or well-known personalities, rake in inconceivable sums of cash, but how they spend that money is what sets them apart. Many of the famous squander their riches on homes, cars and other material possessions, but a fraction of these people dedicate much of their fortune to various charities and organizations.
“The Daily Beast” crunched the numbers, gathered the data and compiled it into a list that ranked the most charitable celebrities based on four key factors. The factors they based their results on included: public perception, number of charities, promotion in traditional media and social media, and other online promotion, each weighted at 25 percent.
So, who topped the list? Musician and pop icon Sir Elton John. Elton John is a backer for an unprecedented 48 charities, most notably those in support of AIDS and HIV. John has been a passionate supporter of this cause since early in his career and has donated personal effects in order to raise money as well as hosting the more traditional benefit concerts and fundraisers.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, one of Hollywood’s most respected power couples, ranked number two and number eight on the list, respectively. The duo supports a combined 68 charities and Jolie ranked number one in traditional media ranking. The pair is well-known for taking in children from third world countries, but they also donate an outstanding amount of time and money to a variety of causes.
Coming in at the number three spot was very well-known activist and musician, Bono, from the band U2. Bono was rated number one in public perception, meaning that his activism and compassion was measured by 46 attribute features that determined his likability and awareness. Bono, like Elton John, is very involved with AIDS activism in addition to hunger and debt relief in the impoverished nations that make up much of Africa.
In modern society, social media has become the premiere platform for advertising and connecting all over the world, and according to “The Daily Beast,” country musician Keith Urban reigned supreme this past year. The Grammy award winner used the various social media outlets to raise money and spread the voices of causes to the world at large. Urban is affiliated with organizations such as St. Jude, The Salvation Army and The American Red Cross.
Other notable celebrities that found their way onto the list included Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Michael J. Fox, Betty White, George Clooney and Katie Couric. Every day the world is being made a better place when stars use their power and allure for the good of charities and organizations that might not get the recognition and substantial funds that they deserve otherwise.
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brocha@ramapo.edu
