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Britain's wealthiest are becoming more generous. According to the Sunday Times Rich List Giving Index, sponsored by CAF, the top 30 most generous rich people gave over £1.2 billion last year, more than double the £450m given in 2006. The Giving Index ranks Rich List members by the proportion of their total wealth donated to charity over the preceding 12 months. The average Giving Index was 9.36 in 2007, almost triple that of 3.61 last year (the median was 4.33 versus 2.93).
Now in its sixth year, the Giving Index has doubled the size of its coverage for 2007, from the top 30 to the top 60 givers. The average Giving Index for all of these individuals was 5.11, still up substantially year-on-year. The most popular causes were education and medical, followed by youth, humanitarian, social and cultural charities - largely unchanged from the previous two years.
Business entrepreneurs and financiers dominate the top 30 list, with only five inheritors represented. Notable donations include a £510.6m pledge by Anil Agarwal's to build Vedanta University, the "Harvard of India"; a further investment of £28.7m by Sir Tom Hunter in the Clinton-Hunter Development Initiative, which supports agriculture, healthcare and education projects in Rwanda and Malawi; and Johan Eliasch's £20m donation to help protect the Amazon rainforest.
Alastair McCall, Giving Index editor, commented: "Combining the reformist fervour of philanthropists from the Victorian age with the business acumen and toughness of the 21st century world of commerce, these latterday Carnegies are seeking to make lasting change."
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