Ken Langone

Though he’s currently one of the nation’s most prolific philanthropists, you’ll probably know Ken Langone more readily as the lead financier of the Home Depot. Before that, Langone began his career at R.W. Pressprich, a Wall Street financial services business, and became the company’s president in 1969. He organized the financing for Home Depot in the mid-70s and served as the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange’s Compensation Committee from 1999 to 2003. In 2020, he cofounded the Open Discourse Coalition with other Bucknell alums, where he currently sits on the Advisory Board. The group aims to foster more open communication between Americans on divisive subjects, such as religion, government, and race. 

Why they made the Worthy 100: Langone has been a generous donor to various causes over the years and a vocal proponent of the Republican Party’s views. In 2021, he came out against ex-President Trump’s actions following the January 6 insurrection. Langone donated $100M and raised another $350M to pay for the tuition of every NYU Medical student, which is worth more than $200K per student. The  gift has helped countless medical students free themselves from school debts.