In 1995 Mr. Wolfensohn was named president of the World Bank, further raising his profile in the international community. He astonished many with a courageous campaign against widespread corruption in both developing and developed countries. He implemented new policies requiring bank representatives to build close and respectful relationships with the impoverished member nations it supported. He is one of the few World Bank presidents to have served two terms, and his decade-long tenure was characterized by an unwavering defense of the underprivileged. Throughout his time at the World Bank, Mr. Wolfensohn continued to give quietly to a range of philanthropic causes that were as varied as his own interests.

Mr. Wolfensohn has earned numerous honors and awards over the course of his illustrious career. In 2005 he was named Special Envoy for Gaza Disengagement by President George W. Bush. His honors include the Knighthood of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun of Japan, the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the award of Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

As a philanthropist, public servant, and humanitarian, Mr. Wolfensohn has demonstrated a record of philanthropy that upholds Andrew Carnegie’s lofty vision of giving and service. The Carnegie family of institutions is enormously privileged to include Sir James D. Wolfensohn among the recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Following Mr. Levy’s death in 2003, Ms. White established the Leon Levy Foundation; their daughter, Tracy White, is now an active participant in the foundation. Known for its creativity and innovation, the foundation supports the preservation, understanding, and expansion of knowledge across a wide range of fields, from neuroscience to the humanities. Initiatives include the Leon Levy Neuroscience Fellowship Program, which funds the research of young scientists, and in 2006 the foundation established the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University.

The Leon Levy Foundation supports projects to which the couple has personal connections, such as an archival grant to the New York Philharmonic. (Mr. Levy worked as an usher at Philharmonic concerts during his student years at City College of New York.) In addition the couple both loved nature, so Ms. White established the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, where they had long owned a home; the preserve is the first national park on that island. The foundation also supports the cultural institutions of Brooklyn, including Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Public Library.

Ms. White serves on the boards of The New York Botanical Garden, the Institute for Advanced Study, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York University, Bard Graduate Center, and The Writers Room. She is also chairman of the American Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

Mr. Levy summed up his philosophy of philanthropy concisely: “I tend to take a long view…. I prefer to give money to pursue a concept or idea…. All we can do is try to leave a legacy of good works.” His philosophy continues to underlie the giving of the Leon Levy Foundation.

We are certain Ms. White’s remarkable achievements at the Leon Levy Foundation would astonish both Leon Levy and Andrew Carnegie. The Carnegie family of institutions is privileged to welcome Shelby White as a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Tragically, Mr. Tompkins died in a kayaking accident in 2015. Despite this loss, his wife has courageously driven their movement forward with outstanding accomplishments. In March 2017, for example, Mrs. Tompkins and Michelle Bachelet, president of Chile, signed a pledge to expand that country’s national park system by approximately 10 million acres. This unprecedented act is the largest land donation ever made by a private individual to a nation. In addition, Mrs. Tompkins has bestowed upon Argentina hundreds of thousands of acres of parklands. These gifts, however, did not come without conditions. Both countries are obligated to actively restore, preserve, and nurture these unspoiled landscapes and their biodiversity in perpetuity. The parklands must also be staffed by a locally sourced workforce to energize the regional economy.

Mrs. Tompkins continues her tireless struggle for conservation. Her gifts to Argentina and Chile are a critical step toward helping those countries to create world-class national park systems, which will continue to benefit visitors from all over the world for generations to come. By protecting the environment that she has always loved, Mrs. Tompkins has become a force of nature in her own right, and the Carnegie family of institutions is honored to recognize her extraordinary accomplishments and generosity with the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Founded in 1999, the Skoll Foundation is one of the largest organizations in the world committed to investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs. The Skoll Award, for example, has given generous grants to 122 social entrepreneurs at 100 organizations across five continents. With over 80 films to its name, Mr. Skoll’s film company, Participant Media, aims to inspire change through storytelling—earning, so far, 52 Academy Award nominations and 11 Oscars. Meanwhile, with a mission to confront “global threats imperiling humanity,” the Skoll Global Threats Fund focuses on climate change, water security, pandemics, nuclear nonproliferation, and conflict in the Middle East. Capricorn Investment Group invests in breakthrough solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, proving that values-based sustainable investment approaches can enhance return rates.

The vision of the Jeff Skoll Group—to “live in a sustainable world of peace and prosperity”—is the bedrock of its founder’s philanthropy. Mr. Skoll’s youthful goal of making the world smaller by uniting people through stories has been brilliantly realized across all of the Jeff Skoll Group organizations, with initiatives that tap into individuals’ idealism and encourage activism. Many of Mr. Skoll’s endeavors have helped inspire positive change in national and international policies, and he has been honored numerous times for his contributions. Fellow Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy medalist Eli Broad named Skoll one of “The World’s 7 Most Powerful Philanthropists” in Forbes in 2011, and the next year he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, a recognition established by Queen Elizabeth II acknowledging outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation.

If Mr. Carnegie were alive today, we believe that he would marvel at Mr. Skoll’s organizational talent and visionary philanthropy. The Carnegie family of institutions applauds the scope of his achievements and his giving, uniting passion, business acumen, and innovation in the effort to create a more just world. We are privileged to include Jeff Skoll among the recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Mr. Robertson’s parents stressed the importance of philanthropy to their young son, and he, continuing the tradition, encouraged a culture of giving throughout his tenure at Tiger. In 1989 he launched the Tiger Foundation, which began by supporting time-tested nonprofits serving New York City’s neediest families. The foundation’s board devised a comprehensive strategy to address poverty’s root causes, supporting individuals and their communities and focusing on education, employment, youth and families, and the criminal justice system. The foundation has engendered multiple offshoot philanthropies run by “Tiger Cubs,” the new generation of hedge fund managers who moved up the corporate ladder under Mr. Robertson’s tutelage.

In 1996, with his wife, Josie, and family, Mr. Robertson established a separate entity, the Robertson Foundation. Like the Tiger Foundation, the new foundation supports public education in New York City while expanding into other priority areas, such as cutting-edge medical research, addressing the impact of climate change, and leadership development though scholarship programs focusing on these issues at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Robertson Foundation also contributes to stem cell research and medical initiatives at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Rockefeller University.

In 1997 Mr. Robertson established The Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation, named in memory of his parents. This endeavor takes him full circle, with a range of initiatives benefitting his hometown in North Carolina.

Despite his modest profile, Mr. Robertson is a compelling force in modern philanthropy. In 2016 Forbes named him one of “America’s 10 Most Generous Philanthropists,” and fellow Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy medalist Eli Broad counts him as one of “The World’s 7 Most Powerful Philanthropists.” For Inside Philanthropy, Mr. Robertson is among “The 18 Most Generous Men on Wall Street.”

The Carnegie family of institutions salutes the range of initiatives conceived and inspired by Mr. Robertson, as well as the extraordinary expertise he has applied to implement them. We are honored to welcome Julian Robertson as a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Throughout his career Mr. Premji has remained deeply faithful to Mahatma Gandhi’s belief that the wealthy are trustees of their fortunes and, as such, are obligated to uplift their societies. Reaching a point when others might have rested on their laurels, Mr. Premji delved even further into uncharted territory. His next challenge was a historic one: how to remedy one of the longest-standing inequities in Indian society. Thanks to him, some of the country’s poorest and most marginalized citizens are gaining better access to education.

Today the Azim Premji Foundation’s educational experts are deeply engaged on the ground across seven states in India, helping improve the equity and quality of over 350,000 schools. The foundation’s strategic and comprehensive outreach extends from remote villages to street children in major cities. In turn, many Azim Premji University graduates aid in the foundation’s monumental work, as well as that of other organizations working for social good in India. Mr. Premji’s aim is to emancipate individuals from economic and social dependence through the advancement and diffusion of knowledge, similar to Mr. Carnegie’s own philanthropic goals.

In addition, over the past two years Mr. Premji has established a new grantmaking endeavor, Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives, which supports not-for-profits working on issues ranging from helping women at risk of violence and people with disabilities to improving local self-governance, reducing child malnutrition, and interventions to ameliorate the hardships experienced by small and marginal farmers. This fast-scaling grantmaking initiative complements Mr. Premji’s sustained work in education, all with the goal of helping to build a better India.

It is no surprise that Mr. Premji is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades. He received the Padma Vibhushan, one of India’s highest civilian awards, and France’s Legion of Honor, and in 2011 was named to the “Time 100,” Time magazine’s list of “the most influential people in the world.” The Carnegie family of institutions hails the remarkable Mr. Premji and the conscience, integrity, and compassion that have guided his visionary giving. His devotion to India is of invaluable benefit to both that nation and to the world. We are privileged to count him among the recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

Columbia University, for one, where Mr. Lenfest attended law school, references the “Lenfest Effect,” a term coined to characterize the transformational nature of the couple’s support. Nearly unprecedented in both scale and range, it is felt from the institution’s law school to its medical center to the Earth Institute. In addition, the Lenfests established the Lenfest Ocean Program, a grantmaking organization in Washington, D.C., managed by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which funds research that influences regional and global policy to protect the world’s oceans.

In 2016 Mr. Lenfest donated the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com to the Philadelphia Foundation, a local community foundation. Thanks to a generous endowment from the Lenfests, the Lenfest Institute for Journalism is now also part of the foundation’s special assets. Today it is the largest public-benefit news organization in the United States, committed to protecting the integrity of journalism in the region and fostering its evolution to a digital format.

Perhaps one of the most revealing characteristics of the Lenfests’ generosity and authenticity is their innate modesty. In the early years of their philanthropy, they purchased a large plot of land in Chester County, Pennsylvania, with the intention of building a substantial home on the property. The foundation was excavated and the rebar was being placed when the Lenfests abandoned the project. They instead purchased two adjoining properties to create ChesLen, a sprawling 1,263-acre nature preserve where the public is free to walk dogs, ride horses, and enjoy the unspoiled landscape. Meanwhile, the Lenfests remain in the modest home they purchased in 1966.

Mr. and Mrs. Lenfest have received numerous recognitions and awards, honorary doctorates, and instrumental board assignments for the earnest, steadfast, and wide-ranging scope of their benevolence. The Carnegie family of institutions hails them for embodying the essence of generosity, altruism, and dedication to the common good, and wholeheartedly welcomes them to the distinguished roster of recipients of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

In 2005 China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs approved the formation of the country’s first nonpublic philanthropic organization. Conceived and spearheaded by Ms. Chak, the Heungkong Charitable Foundation concentrates primarily on education, poverty alleviation, rescue, and disaster relief. To date, the foundation has served over two million needy people, funded 1,500 libraries, sent books to over a million students, given loans to women in rural areas, and provided assistance to more than 80,000 disabled children and elderly citizens.

In the midst of these efforts, Ms. Chak returned to school and received a master’s degree in management from Tulane University. Her remarkable story has been featured on the BBC (“Zhai Meiqing at the Forefront of Chinese Philanthropy”) and in Forbes Asia (“In Asia, 40 Heroes of Philanthropy Are Making Their Mark”).

Ms. Chak’s desire to help uplift the people of China was a significant source of inspiration for her successes in business. The Carnegie family of institutions applauds her selfless generosity and tireless campaign of giving. We believe that Andrew Carnegie would extol the example she has set for a new generation of philanthropists in China, and we are privileged to welcome Mei Hing Chak as a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.