Whatever your opinion of Microsoft, you can't deny that it keeps up its public appearance when it comes to donations. In 2007, the software giant managed to donate $432 million throughout the year. This year, the company gave away $498 million, according to information that blogger Joseph Tartakoff got from a Microsoft spokeswoman. Those numbers include cash donations, as well as matching employee efforts (in the US, Microsoft matches employee donations up to $12,000 a year and donates $17 for every hour an employee volunteers with a nonprofit organization).

In slightly related news, the Donors to the Presidential Inaugural Committee web page notes that Steven Ballmer and wife Connie Ballmer, along with William Gates and wife Melinda Gates, each donated the maximum $50,000. The two couples have donated a combined total of $200,000.

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