6 Big-Hearted Celebs You Should Know

The word ‘celebrity’ conjures up images of private jets, rivers of champagne, fur coats and diamonds. Maybe a sprawling mansion in the Maldives…

But as we’ve seen after the tragic loss of George Michael, whose charity work and generous donations to a couple struggling with infertility only came out after he died, not all celebs are just in it for themselves.

So here we celebrate some of the world’s biggest-hearted famous peeps.

They’ve spread their wealth in the millions without anything in return (ok they also have the furs, diamonds and sprawling mansions but if you had their cash, you would, wouldn’t you?)

6 Most Charitable Celebrities

1. Sir Elton John

Kind-hearted crooner Sir Elton has donated a whopping £26.8million in the past year alone. The cash went to his Aids foundations based in the UK and US, according to the Sunday Times Giving List.

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) was set up to find ways of stamping out the disease once and for all. It also provides help to people suffering with the disease.

The generous star also holds an annual star-studded bash at his home to raise money for the cause. In terms of charity, Elton truly is a Rocket Man.

2. JK Rowling

The Harry Potter author, screenwriter and producer was named as the second most generous celeb on the Sunday Times list.

The 51-year-old has donated over £10million to charities, which include her own Lumos Foundation (stopping child institutionalisation by 2050) and multiple sclerosis charity Volant.

Harry Pots-of-cash is certainly spreading his magic for others….

3. Martin Lewis

The King of Money Saving Advice has donated a large pot of gold to different charities since coining in £25million from the sale of a large portion of shares in his website MoneySavingExpert.co.uk.

Charities who have benefited from Martin’s millions are the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and his own foundation, The Money and Mental Health Institute which helps people with mental health problems stay out of debt.

Money Nuggets salutes you Martin, keep spreading the wealth and advice!

4. David Beckham

It turns out that there’s more to Golden Balls than the bod, hairdos and Posh wife.

The former England superstar has raised thousands for children’s charity Unicef and is currently serving his 10^th year as a Goodwill Ambassador.

He also runs his own charity along with wife Victoria called The Victoria and David Beckham Charitable Trust which has raised millions to fund projects assisting sick and disabled children.

In 2013 he also donated his entire £3.4million salary from Paris Saint-Germain football club to charity. He could probably afford it – being currently worth £280million!

We love the way you Spend it like Beckham David…

5. Taylor Swift

The stratospherically famous pop princess was crowned the most charitable celebrity by DoSomething.org in 2014.

She was given the top spot on their annual Celebs Gone Good list after she donated all the proceeds for her song Welcome to New York to public schools in the US.

The Shake It Off star – worth £200million – also donated millions to a host of other charities and good causes, including a $50,000 donation to an 11-year-old fan battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Other stars to make it onto the list include fellow popstars Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Myley Cyrus.

6. Jamie Oliver

With an estimated fortune of £328million, Jamie Oliver can certainly spare a few crumbs from his plate, and he hasn’t disappointed.

The TV chef is one of the country’s most generous celebrities and has given more than £10million (around 4.7% of his wealth) to charities, including Comic Relief and his own Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, which aims to promote healthy eating for future generations.

What a sweet fella!

Over to You

Do you give to charity? You don’t have to be a celebrity to give. Givers never go poor. We have no idea how this works, just that it does.

If you have a choice between buying something for the food bank donation box or getting yourself a coffee, be generous and help someone else. It’ll come back to you sooner or later – promise!

Share your favourite charities with us here….