Synopsis: The Top Philanthropy Stories of January 2026

Rich people doing their best to make the world a better place.

Kris and her late husband Doug | Wikimedia Commons

New National Park: At the edge of the world map, where land turns into subantarctic forests and icy seas, Chile is preparing to create a national park to protect endangered wildlife and unique ecosystems. Spanning 370,000 acres, thanks to the philanthropic venture of Kris and her late husband Doug Tompkins (who co-founded North Face). Over the years, they have helped conserve 14.7 million acres of land and 30 million marine acres.

$240 Million in Surprise Bonuses: A Louisiana factory boss rewarded his long-term employees with six-figure bonuses after selling his company for $1.7 billion. Employees described the bonuses as life changing and the boss said: “Close to a quarter-billion dollars in employees’ hands felt fair.”

Billionaire Drives Down Rents: Locals are being priced out of the rental market in glitzy Steamboat Springs, a Rocky Mountains ski resort, so a billionaire has stepped in to help level the playing field for community workers.

Marguerite au peignoir, 1920 | Musee d'Art Moderne de Paris

"Complete Surprise": The Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris has received an “extraordinarily generous” donation of 61 works by Henri Matisse - many of which are of his daughter Marguerite - that have been kept in the artist’s family. The donation, described by the museum as exceptional and historic, was made by Barbara Dauphin Duthuit, the wife of Matisse’s grandson Claude.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: Lewis Carroll's annotated personal copy of his famous book has been returned to Oxford, thanks to an American philanthropist. “Now that the book will reside in its spiritual home in Oxford, I look forward to it being enjoyed by students and Alice enthusiasts for generations to come,” said American philanthropist and bibliophile Ellen Michelson.