Bernie Sanders donated less than 1 percent to charity first year he made over 1 million dollars

By Andrew Kerr

Vermont Sen. and 2020 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’s charitable contributions fell far under the average for his income bracket the first year he reported earning more than one million dollars.

Sanders released 10 years of tax returns Monday, revealing that he earned an average of $280,975 per year from 2009 through 2015, and that his income skyrocketed to $1,062,626 in 2016 due to sales of his best-selling book, “Our Revolution.”

Sanders reported $10,600 in charitable contributions in 2016, making up slightly less than one percent of his reported income and falling under the $21,365 average charitable contribution for Americans who earned $250,000 or more that year, according to the latest available IRS data.

The self-avowed Democratic-socialist purchased his third home in 2016 — a $575,000 lake-front property in Vermont, according to Fox News.

The following year, Sanders donated $36,300 of his adjusted gross income of $1,131,925 to charity.

Year Adjusted Gross Income Charitable Gifts Percent to Charity
2018 $561,293 $18,950 3.38%
2017 $1,131,925 $36,300 3.21%
2016 $1,062,626 $10,600 1.00%
2015 $240,610 $6,150 2.56%
2014 $205,271 $8,350 4.07%
2013 $278,779 $6,800 2.44%
2012 $280,954 $1,900 0.68%
2011 $324,870 $5,500 1.69%
2010 $321,596 $5,750 1.79%
2009 $314,742 $6,050 1.92%

From 2009 through 2015, when Sanders was earning on average $280,975 per year, he contributed 2.06 percent to charity.

His charitable giving raised slightly to 2.39 percent of his income from 2016 through 2018, when his average income soared to $918,615 per year.

“My wife and I do give money to charity, and we’re proud to do what we did,” Sanders said at a Fox News town hall Monday.

A campaign spokesperson for Sanders said in a statement to the Daily Beast that while the senator believes voluntary charitable donations are commendable, they can’t make up government investment in social programs, which his platform calls for.

“Over the last decade, Bernie and Jane Sanders have donated more than $100,000 to charity. Their overall charitable giving rates have been roughly in line with the average rates in America as a whole,” Sanders’s campaign spokeswoman Arianna Jones said.

“In some years, they gave more than 3 or 4 percent of their income to charity. They have given to senior centers, low-income organizations, educational entities, and environmental and housing advocacy groups. They also believe that while voluntary charitable donations are commendable, they can never replace ongoing public investments in major social programs and services that improve people’s lives.”

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Lorie Shaull

11 thoughts on “Bernie Sanders donated less than 1 percent to charity first year he made over 1 million dollars

  1. Lead by example Bernie………..Bernie is nothing but a modern day “snake oil” salesman.

  2. He thinks he is genuine. He tells so many mistruths or half-truths and unfortunately, he and the sheep really believe what he says. The free market making him a millionaire is a real dilemma for him. He fights the idea of free markets…….economic democracy where the people decide what products to buy……voting the success or failure of a product. He is liking his book deal a little too much and it must be creating havoc with his mind. He has not departed yet from his dream of an economic dictatorship by the elite, His not giving away his excess, that he wants to mandate by force everyone else to do, is a perfect example of socialism is for the masses, never the socialist. Every socialist I know will go through the torture of hell not to pay a penny more on their taxes.

  3. They also believe that while voluntary charitable donations are commendable, they can never replace ongoing public investments in major social programs and services that improve people’s lives.”

    Well that’s a pile of darks stuff behind the barn……he didn’t give his own plan to the government. And he wants to harass President Trump about his taxes and how much he saved himself in taxes…well he saved Bernie money too and I didn’t see ole Bern meister sending the difference.

  4. Wow, this is pretty good in my eyes, I didn’t think he’d even give a dime !!

    I think he should donate his entire Senate Salary because I can’t think of one thing he’s
    done for Vermont to earn it, I bet he has a ton of frequent flyer mile though ………

    He’s a legand in his own mind !!

    • He’s a political animal and knows he has to donate just enough to make himself look like a humanitarian to his sheeple. I’m sure he had to grit his teeth every time he signed a donation check.

      • Keith you are right. Yet to be honest I doubt he even donated to any charities. Now that he has Sanders Foundation he probably donated to that which is him, same as the Clinton Foundation.. Sanders doesn’t do anything unless it benefits him !!!! Plus seeing ole Janey does their taxes, we can bet there’s a lot of fudging on the tax forms.

    • CHenry, you got there first with my intended remark, but let me add
      BS Sanders is a leader and hero in his own mind. Otherwise, he’s totally out of it.

  5. He’s a bit off on his minimum taxation for millionaires of 52%. What about the poor you “serve and champion” ? You don’t think others could benefit? He’s talked about it for 30 years, he’s been extremely well paid his entire life and when he gets a chance to lead by example, he does what every socialist leader ever does. Keeps all the money for himself. It’s perfect foreshadowing of what happens with socialism/cronyism, government officials get rich, the rest get crumbs.

    And to think years ago, I thought you were genuine, poor judgment on my part.

    • Never trusted him from the first time I met him. He was to fake. When he became mayor I left Burlington. As far as I was concerned he was a lying crook, he has proved me right. His first wife did the best thing in her life by leaving him. She worked and he wouldn’t get a job.

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