Community Corner

3 La Jollans Make 50 Most-Generous Donors List

"The Chronicle of Philanthropy" released its list of the 50 biggest philanthropists in the U.S. on Feb. 6.

La Jolla and its residents often make the list. From to top golf courses, from most to best beaches, La Jolla is on the map. However, La Jolla is not just known for its assets, but what we do with those assets.

Three La Jollans made The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of most generous givers in 2011. The list, Philanthropy 50, came out last week with a La Jollan on top.

The late Margaret A. Cargill left a bequest of $6 billion. Cargill died in 2006 but the foundations weren’t able to liquidate her assets until last year, according to the report. Cargill, the heir of Cargill Inc., left all of her shares of Cargill stock to be split between two beneficiaries: the Anne Ray Charitable Trust and Margaret A. Cargill Foundation.

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“The philanthropists on The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 50 list are a mix of old money and new, famous and unfamiliar names, longtime charity patrons and those fresh to public displays of largesse,” reported The Chronicle.

Coming in at Number 22 was Joan K. and Irwin M. Jacobs, co-founder of Qualcomm. The Jacobs are large donors in the San Diego and La Jolla communities and reportedly gave out $64.9 million in 2011. This is their seventh year on the list. Their biggest beneficiary was the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego. Other beneficiaries include $15 million to the San Diego Public Library Foundation, $5 million to the San Diego Symphony, and $3.5 million to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, according to The Chronicle.

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Two spots down at Number 24 was Conrad T. Prebys, a real estate investor. He donated $63.1 million to numerous organizations in San Diego including $45 million to Scripps Health to build the and $15 million to the Zoological Society of San Diego for two new projects at the San Diego Zoo, according to The Chronicle.

Local Philanthropists on the "Philanthropy 50" List

Rank Donor Total Committed Years on the List 1 Margaret A. Cargill $6,000,000,000 1 22 Irwin M. and Joan K. Jacobs $64,854,000 7 24 Conrad T. Prebys $63,075,000 1

–Data provided by The Chronicle of Philanthropy

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