philantropy
The Rockefeller Foundation invested in research on improving agricultural productivity in the developing world, which is now commonly believed to have been the catalyst for a “Green Revolution” that Wikipedia states is “credited with saving over a billion people from starvation.” (The Wikipedia article discusses the role of the Rockefeller
Eradication of Diseases
ourworldindata.org
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
en.wikipedia.org
From 2009 to 2024, GiveWell directed more than $1.45 billion to our current Top Charities.1 We estimate that this funding will save a total of about 340,000 lives by:
Distributing 101.2 million insecticide-treated nets to households
Treating 76.1 million children with a full course of anti-malarial medicine
Providing vitamin A supplements to 142.2
In The Birth of the Pill, Jonathan Eig credits philanthropist and feminist Katharine McCormick — advised by Margaret Sanger — with being the sole funder of crucial early-stage research leading to the development of the combined oral contraceptive pill, now one of the most common and convenient birth control methods.