While many ordinary people support charities with financial contributions, it works a bit differently for celebrities. The Daily Beast collected data to analyze the support provided to charities by celebrities — not in terms of money, mind you — but in sharing their most valuable resource: Their fame.
In comprising a list of the most charitable celebrities of 2013, the site analyzed four different types of data: The number of charities supported by each celebrity, their public perception ranking, their traditional (print and television) media ranking, and their online (social media) ranking.
The Daily Beast collected data to analyze the support provided to charities by celebrities — in sharing their most valuable resource: Their fame.
Using these four types of data — each weighted 25 percent — the Daily Beast came up with a list of the 25 most charitable celebrities.
The list, which features names like Oprah, George Clooney, and Brad Pitt, also includes two Texas-born stars. Willie Nelson, the highest ranked Lone Star celeb, came in at No. 11 as he supports 16 charities and was ranked fifth in terms of traditional media coverage for supporting his causes. The musician is most widely known for his involvement with Farm Aid — a charity to raise awareness about the loss of family farms and to raise funds to keep farm families on their land — of which Nelson is president.
The second Texas celebrity to make the list is Corpus Christi native Eva Longoria who came in at No. 15. The Desperate Housewives star supports 35 charities and ranked 10th for her charitably-focused social media presence. She has founded two charities, including Eva's Heroes, a charity to enrich the lives of individuals with special needs — just like her own sister, making the cause quite close to her heart.
Want to know who came in first? Elton John was found to be the No. 1 most charitable celebrity, supporting more than 45 charities and the superstar came in second for traditional media coverage of his support for those causes. He is most known for his work with the Elton John AIDS Foundation which he founded in 1992.
Eva Longoria, a native of Corpus Christi, came in at No. 15 on the list and has founded two charities of her own.
