Many donors think of the largest nonprofits as the ones they see on TV — the Red Cross, United Way, St. Jude. By revenue, those organizations are significant. But by net assets — the financial cushion a nonprofit has built up over time — a very different list emerges.
Net assets are the nonprofit equivalent of net worth: total assets minus total liabilities. A large net asset base means an organization can weather downturns, fund long-term commitments, and operate independently of annual fundraising cycles. It is one of the most telling numbers in a Form 990.
The table below ranks the 99 largest IRS-registered nonprofits by net assets, drawn from each organization’s most recent 990 or 990-PF filing. The list includes private foundations, public charities, universities, hospital systems, and donor-advised fund sponsors — organizations that look very different from each other but share one thing: extraordinary financial scale.
Notes: IRS Form 990 filings are all public information. CharityNine reports draw most of their data from nonprofit 990s. Churches and government agencies are not required to file Form 990, although some do file.
By the way, based on recent filings the richest private companies based on net assets are Berkshire Hathaway ($729B), Alphabet (Google) ($479B), Amazon ($442B), Microsoft (($414B), and JPMorgan Chase ($364B). In the money numbers, “B” is short for “Billion.”
A closer look at the top
The #1 organization — Lilly Endowment ($79.5B, Indianapolis) — is a name most donors don’t immediately recognize. Founded in 1937 by the family behind Eli Lilly and Company, it is one of the largest private foundations in the world, focused almost entirely on Indiana communities, religion, and education. Its low public profile relative to its scale makes it one of the more striking entries on this list.
Two Gates Foundation entities appear separately at #2 and #3. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation files as both a Trust ($77.2B) and a Foundation ($72.7B) — distinct legal entities that file separate 990-PFs. Their combined net assets exceed $149B.
Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund (#4, $66.5B) is not a grantmaking foundation — it is the largest donor-advised fund (DAF) sponsor in the country. Net assets here represent funds that donors have contributed but not yet directed to specific charities. The money is committed to charity; the donors are still deciding where.
Harvard appears twice — the University itself at #5 ($62.3B) and Harvard Management Private Equity Corporation at #10 ($49.2B), a separate legal entity managing a portion of the endowment.
UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust (#6, $60.2B) is perhaps the most unexpected entry: a retiree healthcare fund for United Auto Workers members, not a traditional charity by most definitions, but IRS-registered and 990-filing.
The Mastercard Foundation (#9) is headquartered in Canada but files with the IRS.
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The top 99
Net assets from each organization’s most recent Form 990 or 990-PF on file with the IRS (fiscal years 2022–2025). Some organizations may file under a parent entity. Click any name to request a full 9-part CharityNine report.
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