kaiser is listed third on "businessweek"'s 2008 list of the top 50 american philanthropists, behind warren buffett and bill and melinda gates. among his prominent causes is fighting childhood poverty through the george kaiser family foundation; he is also a major benefactor to the jewish community in oklahoma, which numbers about 5,000 people. he has been notably active in the promotion of early childhood education. kaiser's family foundation is also the largest contributor to the tulsa community foundation, which kaiser established in 1998 because of his perception that tulsa's historical dependence on unorganized private giving from its wealthy families was no longer effective. beginning with gifts from seventeen local philanthropists, by 2006 this foundation had grown to become the largest community foundation in the united states, and now has approximately four billion dollars in assets.