Jamsetji Tata tops global list of top 10 philanthropists from last 100 yrs

Hurun Research and EdelGive Foundation today released the 2021 EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century, a ranking of the world's most generous individuals from the last 100 years

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, founder of the Tata Group, has topped the EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century. The report pegs the current value of his donation – mainly to education and healthcare – at $102.4 billion with the start of his key endowments way back in 1892.

Tata is the only Indian in the top 10 list. The other Indian among the top 50 is Azim Premji, former chairman of Wipro, who is ranked 12th. Bill Gates & Melinda French Gates, Henry Wellcome, Howard Hughes and Warren Buffett are among the top 5. Mackenzie Scott, the former wife of Jeff Bezos, Donated $8.5 billion directly to charities, most ever in a single year by a living donor.

The ranking is based on Total Philanthropic Value, calculated as the value of the assets adjusted for inflation, together with the sum of gifts or distributions to date. The data was derived from publicly available sources and in certain cases directly as shared by the foundations.

Jamsetji Tata, known for his ventures within the cotton and pig iron industry, set up Tata Iron and Steel Works Company (TISCO) in Jamshedpur, now known as Tata Steel in Jamshedpur. Founded in 1907, Tata Steel now operates in 26 countries including India, Netherlands and United Kingdom, and employs around 80,500 people, according to reports.

“The total philanthropic value of Tata is made up of 66 per cent of Tata Sons, estimated at $100 billion, solely based on the value of listed entities,” the EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century report said. CLICK HERE FOR THE TOP 10 LIST

Wipro's Premji, on the other hand, agreed to give away at least half of his wealth by signing the Giving Pledge in 2013. He started with a $2.2 billion donation to the Azim Premji Foundation, which focused on education in India. He topped the EdelGive Hurun India Philanthropy List for 2020. 

Around the world

The world’s 50 most generous individuals in the last century came from five countries, according to the EdelGive Hurun report, overwhelmingly led by the US with 39, followed by 5 from the UK, China (3), India (2) and Portugal & Switzerland (1 each). Their donations amounted to $832 billion, of which $503 billion are in foundations today and $329 billion have been disbursed in the last century.

“It is surprising that Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have not made the cut in this list. The stories of the world’s biggest philanthropists of the last century tells the story of modern philanthropy. The legacies of the world’s earliest billionaires such as Carnegie and Rockefeller, through to the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s of today, show how wealth created has been redistributed,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report.

Adding: “Many of the philanthropists made the donation in the second generation rather than the first, such as the story of the Ford Foundation, which was set up by the son of Henry Ford.”

The top 50 individuals, according to the report, collectively contributed $30 billion, or 6 per cent, of their total endowments as annual grants. With $8.5 billion donations, MacKenzie Scott is the biggest annual grant maker followed by Warren Buffett ($2.7 billion) and Bill & Melinda Gates ($2.5 billion).