Everyone remembers Carnegie, Mellon, Rockefeller, and Stanfurd because of their generous acts. Nobody remembers their almost-as-successful, but far less generous competitors. To date, Bill Gates has donated more money to charity than Steve Jobs was ever worth. Steve Jobs...has donated less money to charity than your average churchgoer.
Everyone remembers Thomas Edison and Henry Ford too. And it doesn't have anything to do with "generous acts"