Mark Zuckerberg Philanthropy Tops Giving by All Others in 2013

Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy exceeded that of any other American in 2013.

The 29-year-old Facebook co-founder, along with his wife Priscilla Chan, donated 18 million shares of Facebook stock – valued at more than $970 million – to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation nonprofit in December, the Associated Press reported.

Zuckerberg, who as of September 2013 had an estimated net worth of $19 billion, is the first person under 30 to top the list of biggest givers, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

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The top 50 contributors made donations last year totaling $7.7 billion, plus pledges of $2.9 billion. Some of the nation's biggest givers do not appear on the 2013 list because their donations in 2013 were counted as pledges in previous years, the AP noted.

Among those 2013 donations that were not counted because they were part of a prior pledge was that of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, whose foundation gave $181.3 million last year that was owed from a $3.3 billion pledge they made in 2004. The money reportedly went towards education, global health, libraries, and charities in the Pacific Northwest.

In addition to the Gates' and Zuckerberg's of the world, other significant donors included Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett who along with CNN-founder Ted Turner also made payments toward previous pledges.

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Philip Knight, a co-founder of Nike, and his wife Penelope, made the second biggest commitment of the year with a $500-million pledge to Oregon Health and Science University Foundation where the money will be put towards cancer research. According to the AP, the university itself must match the donation within the next 24 months to receive all of the money pledged.

Third on the list was Michael Bloomberg. The former New York City mayor donated a total of $452 million in 2013 to several organizations that are reportedly involved in promoting the arts, education, and environment, among other causes. As of September 2013, the 71-year-old Bloomberg has a net worth of $31 billion, according to Forbes magazine.