The Six Most Influential Philanthropists of New York City !There has been a noticeable increase in philanthropy across the country over recent years, from the Bill Gates giving pledge, to the ice-bucket challenge for ALS. In New York City particularly, there have been some all-stars who have made generous efforts to help others. Here are the six most influential philanthropist in the city of New York: !Chairman of Soros Fund Management: George Soros George is a big player in the currency speculation and hedge fund business. Managing money is his vocation. He has turned that knowledge toward a philanthropic direction donating $4 billion to promote “open societies” in South Africa, communist Eastern Europe, and the Republican party in the US. !Founder of Robin Hood Foundation: Paul Tudor Jones II The Robin Hood Foundation is a next generation-type non-profit where the foundation donates 100% of its received money into charities to fight poverty. These charities must prove certain criteria in order to qualify the donation from RHF. This leaves the donors with peace of mind knowing their money is going to a place that will actually use it for the right reasons. !Founder of the New York Public Library’s Young Lions: Hannah McFarland Recruiting the likes of Ethan Hawke, Hannah helped to make the NYPL the place to be for young people in 1999. Young Lions hosts a yearly galla these days with a fiction writers prize as the main event. !President of Carnegie Corporation of New York: Vartan Gregorian Responsible for the donation of $55 million over the past four years to various neighborhood organizations across the past four years, Vartan brings the money from anonymous donors to worthy charities. One notable backing being monetary support for the Museum of Natural History’s Darwin exhibit when no other sponsor could be found. !Founder of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation: Evelyn Lauder The savvy marketing plan that you may recognize as the pink ribbon is product of Evelyn. With a recognizable name from Estee Lauder, where she is vice president, she has organized an army of supporters for breast cancer research. Last years donation total alone totaled $25 million. !