New Delhi: Western business houses as well as philanthropists make waves with their big-ticket moves but the fact that is set to astonish & baffle everyone is that not US nor EU was biggest philanthropist of last century.
It is Indian industry’s doyen Jamsetji Tata who has emerged as the biggest philanthropist globally in the last century by donating USD 102 billion, as per a list of top-50 givers prepared by Hurun Report and EdelGive Foundation.
Jamsetji Tata, the founder of businesses from salt to software, is much ahead of others like Bill Gates and his now estranged wife Melinda who have donated USD 74.6 billion, Warren Buffet (USD 37.4 billion), George Soros (USD 34.8 billion) and John D Rockefeller (USD 26.8 billion), the list showed.
“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,” Rupert Hoogewerf, the chairman and chief researcher at Hurun, told reporters.
Tata & Premji among eminent list of Indians
Hoogewerf said that Jamsetji Tata’s giving started in 1892 itself.
“Setting aside two-thirds of ownership to trusts engaged in doing good in various areas including education and healthcare has helped Tatas achieve the top spot in giving,” he said.
Azim Premji of Wipro is the only other Indian in the list who has virtually given his entire fortune of $ 22 billion for philanthropic causes.
A majority 38 people in 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.
