Not Bill Gates, founder of Tata Group is top philanthropist of last century

Indian pioneer industrialist Jamsetji Tata has emerged as the biggest philanthropist worldwide in the last century, according to a list prepared by Hurun Report and EdelGive Foundation of top-50 givers. Jamestji Tata donated $102 billion and is now ahead of Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda, who donated $74.6 billion, Warren Buffet ($37.4 billion), George Soros ($34.8 billion) and John D Rockefeller ($26.8 billion), the list said.

The chairman and chief researcher at Hurun, Rupert Hoogewerf said, “Whilst American and European philanthropists may have dominated the thinking of philanthropy over the last century, Jamsetji Tata, founder of India’s Tata Group, is the world’s biggest philanthropist,” news agency PTI quoted.

Jamsetji Tata’s giving started in 1892, the Hurun chairman said, adding that his step of setting aside two-thirds of ownership to trusts engaged in various areas, including education and healthcare, has helped Tata industries achieve the top spot in giving.

After Tata founder, the only Indian on the list is Wipro’s Azim Premji, who has virtually donated his entire $22 billion fortune for philanthropic causes.

Alfred Nobel, alongside a few other names, is not in the list, Rupert Hoogewerf said.

A majority of 38 people on the list are from the US, followed by the UK (5) and China (3). Total 37 of the donors are dead while only 13 of them are alive.

The total donations by the 50 givers are pegged at $832 billion over the last century, of which $503 billion came from foundation endowments and $329 billion from donations to date.

The annual grants by them are now topping $30 billion, Hurun said, adding that with a donation of $8.5 billion, MacKenzie Scott is the biggest annual grantmaker.

“Today’s billionaires are not keeping up with philanthropy, making money much faster than they are giving it away,” Rupert Hoogewerf said.