Eleven big givers you know — and some you may not

We’ve taken a look at some of the nation’s big givers. Some of them you may know — others you may not.

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President Barack Obama presents a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to Warren Buffett on Feb. 15, 2011, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. Buffett, a billionaire who pledged the bulk of his fortune to philanthropy, has said the need for charitable giving is unending.

Carolyn Kaster / AP

Opera star Placido Domingo, left, general director of the Los Angeles Opera, sits next to Edyhte and Eli Broad on Sept. 6, 2006 in Los Angeles, Calif. as they announce that the company will present Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen," thanks to a $6 million donation from the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Foundation. The Broads ranked 5th among Americans who gave the most in 2010, giving $118.3 million, according to The Chornicle of Philanthropy.

REED SAXON / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Financier George Soros looks on during a session entitled "Redesigning the International Monetary System: A Davos Debate" at the World Economic Forum annual meeting on January 27, 2011 in Davos. Soros was ranked first among American donors in 2010, giving $332 million, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Pierre Omidyar and Pamela Omidyar attend the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy 10th Anniversary Award ceremony at The New York Public Library on October 20, 2011 in New York City. The Omidyars ranked 16th among Americans who gave the most in 2010, giving over $61.5 million, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Dario Cantatore / GETTY IMAGES

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks to reporters at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts November 7, 2011. Zuckerberg ranked 10th among Americans who gave the most, in 2010 giving $100 million, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The entirety of the $100 million went to help Newark Public Schools.

BRIAN SNYDER / REUTERS

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, center, listens as then-Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, left, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 17, 2008. Bloomberg gave just under $279.2 million in 2010, ranking second to financier George Soros among the Americans who gave the most that year, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

AP Photo/Susan Walsh / AP PHOTO/SUSAN WALSH

T. Denny Sanford receives a University of Minnesota cap after university president Robert Bruininks, left, announced Sanford's $35 million gift to support a new, on-campus stadium at the university during a news conference Friday, Sept. 5, 2003, in Minneapolis. Sanford gave a total of $162.5 million in 2010, ranking third among Americans who gave the most that year, according to The Chornicle of Philanthropy.

JIM MONE / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Legendary Texas oil and gas executive T. Boone Pickens discusses his energy plan at the American Wind Energy Association conference Wednesday, May 6, 2009, in Chicago. Pickens gave over $101 million in 2010, ranking 8th among America's biggest givers that year, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

M. Spencer Green / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Then-Qualcomm CEO Dr. Irwin Jacobs speaks during Qualcomm's annual shareholders meeting held at Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego Feb. 11, 2003. Jacobs and his wife Joan K. Jacobs gave just under $119.5 million in 2010, ranking 4th among the nation's largest givers that year, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

DENIS POROY / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Americans for Prosperity Foundation chairman and Koch Industries Executive Vice President David H. Koch applauds during the Defending the American Dream Summit at the Washington Convention Center November 4, 2011 in Washington, DC. Koch ranked 45th among the nation's largest charitable donors in 2010, giving $23 million according to The Chornicle of Philanthropy.

Chip Somodevilla / GETTY IMAGES

Microsoft Corp. founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, right, and his wife Melinda Gates attend to a child as they meet with members of the Mushar community at Jamsot Village near Patna, India on March 23, 2011. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, founded in 1994, has developed an endowment of over $31 billion to combat the world's leading challenges.

Aftab Alam Siddiqui / AP

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