Philanthropy Impact would like to congratulate this year’s recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy:

Sir Tom Hunter, the British entrepreneur whom the Sunday Times called Scotland’s first home-grown billionaire;

Dame Janet Frances Wolfson de Botton CBE on behalf of the Wolfson family, founders of the Wolfson Foundation.

Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science Community Development and one of Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women;

Dr James Harris Simons – along with his wife, economist Dr Marilyn Simons – the American mathematician who founded one of the world’s most successful hedge fund companies;

Dr Dmitry Zimin, the co-founder of the second-largest telecom business in Russia.

Often described as the ‘Nobel Prize for philanthropy’,The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy recognises those who use their private wealth for public good and is awarded by the Carnegie UK Trust, on behalf of the international family of Carnegie institutions. The philanthropic activities of this year’s Carnegie medallists span the globe and include support for education, science, entrepreneurship and the arts.

The 2013 winners will receive their medals at a ceremony held at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, today,  Thursday 17 October 2013 and Pierre Omidyar, the entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder and chairman of eBay, and a recipient of the 2011 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, will be the keynote speaker.

Previous winners include Walter Annenberg and Leonore Annenberg, the Rockefeller Family, the Gates Family, the Sainsbury Family, the Cadbury Family, George Soros, Sir Tom Farmer CVO and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Medal is awarded on behalf of the network of more than 20 organisations Andrew Carnegie endowed in America and in Europe.

Now in its 12th year, this is only the second time the ceremony has been held outside the United States, both times in Scotland, having been last hosted by the Scottish Parliament in 2005. This year’s event also marks the centennial of the establishment of the Carnegie UK Trust. The Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy is the most celebrated award in global philanthropy. It was established in 2001 to mark the centennial of Andrew Carnegie’s retirement from business and the beginning of his efforts to reinvest his wealth in a way that would ‘do real and permanent good in this world.’