Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen have been in the headlines frequently as they finalize their divorce. However, the divorce proceedings uncovered that their charity, the Luz Foundation, donated less than .1% of their combined assets over a decade.
The former couple finalized their divorce on October 26, 2022. The couple had to figure out how to divide their large assets because Brady is an NFL quarterback, and Bundchen is a fashion model.
These proceedings revealed that the two shared about $770 million in assets. Given their exceedingly high net worth, one might assume they have donated substantial amounts through the Luz Foundation.
The foundation was founded in 2007, but reports showed its donations have been very small in scale over the past decade.
Some donations included sums as small as $300 or $1,000 to nonprofit organizations like the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Meanwhile, the bigger sums they doled out largely went to meditation and yoga organizations.
In 2019, they donated $80,000 to Pointing Out the Great Way Foundation. The organization, now the Mustang Bon Foundation, seeks to preserve meditation practices from the Mustang Valley.
How much have Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen donated?
According to the New York Post, the Luz Foundation gave out a total of $640,402 over 12 years. Given their whopping $770 million net worth, this means they donated just .00008% of their assets over 12 years.
However, it must be noted that the Luz Foundation is just one of many charities the two are involved in. Brady, separate from Bundchen, runs the charity TB12 Foundation.
Meanwhile, Bundchen has found creative ways to raise money for various foundations. For example, she will hold auctions or design jewelry to sell and have the proceeds donated to the likes of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or Music Rising.
Both have supported organizations like Wheels Up and Feeding Tampa Bay which seek to provide food to those in poverty. They have donated upwards of a million meals to these organizations.
Hence, the $640,402 doesn’t encompass all of the charitable work they have done through other charities and mediums.
However, it still highlights that they have plenty more resources that could’ve gone to further charity work and have also donated some surprisingly small funds over the years.
Did Brady steal from his TB12 Foundation?
The discovery of how little the Luz Foundation donated over 12 years is more concerning amid allegations that Brady stole from his charity.
This allegation arises as Bradly made a questionable choice to entwine his non-profit TB12 Foundation with his for-profit company, TB12, Inc. TB12, Inc. is a wellness organization that provides products like nutritional supplements while TB12 Foundation seeks to empower and serve underprivileged athletes.
TB12, Inc. began providing “sports therapy” sessions for the TB12 Foundation. For this service, TB12 Foundation has paid TB12, Inc. a whopping $1.6 million since 2015.
It is unclear if this can be viewed as “stealing,” but it is unusual and risky for a charity to have that kind of arrangement with a for-profit.
It was also reported that Brady donated only $200,000 to the TB12 Foundation himself since its launch.
Needless to say, some of Brady’s and Bundchen’s charitable actions and donation sums don’t quite add up in the face of their $770 million worth.