Ralph Wilson Jr.

FILE - In this Nov. 1, 2009, file photo, Buffalo Bills' owner Ralph Wilson Jr. holds up his Hall of Fame ring during a halftime NFL football ceremony against the Houston Texans in Orchard Park, N.Y. Bills owner Wilson Jr. has died on March 25, 2014. He was 95. (AP Photo/Dean Duprey, File)

(Dean Duprey)

Orchard Park, N.Y. — The sale of the Buffalo Bills helped late owner and found Ralph Wilson come in at No. 2 on the Philanthropy 50, a list of the nation's most generous donors.

Wilson, who died in March of 2014, was behind only Bill and Melinda Gates thanks to a $1 billion bequest, according to Buffalo Business First. Wilson's gift made up more than 10 percent of the total $9.8 billion from donors that made the list.

When Terry and Kim Pegula bought the Bills for $1.4 billion in October, over $1 billion was raised for the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation, which supports charitable organizations in both Western New York and Southeastern Michigan, two places Wilson called home.

This is the largest donation the foundation has ever received, so this could open the door for plenty of possibilities in Western New York and beyond.

» List of top donors on the Philanthropy 50