The UK publication Spear’s Magazine, in association with leading wealth consultancy company WealthInsight, has revealed the largest billionaire charity pledges of 2013.
Leading the charity charge last year were American billionaires John Arnold and Stephen Ross, each pledging an impressive $4 billion of their wealth as part of Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffet’s Giving Pledge.
The pledge is a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to sign over the majority of their wealth to philanthropy.
The research revealed that ten of the biggest multimillionaire donors pledged over $20 billion in total for charitable causes.
Billionaire Warren Buffett pledged $2.6 billion to five charities, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in July, while Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has committed to giving over $2.5 billion to charity.
Other individuals making the pledge included South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe and UK businessman and politician Lord Ashcroft, who have both committed to donating half of their fortune.
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Some of the most generous celebrities of 2013 were also revealed, including Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, Oprah Winfrey and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Oliver Williams of WealthInsight commented: “Globally, multimillionaires from Europe and the US remain the most generous donors. But in years to come, we should hope to see competition coming from the rapidly growing wealthy of China, India and the Middle East as they also sign up to giving pledges.”
The research showed that cultural, academic, health and humanitarian charities were the most popular among multimillionaires in 2013, accounting for 71% of all global multimillionaire donations in the year.
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