Text: Xiao Yu
The past two years can be said to be two years of many disasters and difficulties. The outbreak of the epidemic in 2020 has led to the outbreak of torrential rains in various parts of China this year. However, adhering to the concept of "one side has difficulties, eight parties support", people all over our country, and even people in many other countries around the world, whether they are rich people, celebrities, enterprises, or students, "workers", have united to lend a helping hand.
Of course, the most direct way is to donate and donate funds. Among them, how much donations from enterprises, rich people, celebrities, etc. is also the topic that the majority of netizens discuss the most. On October 28, the Hurun Research Institute released the "Hurun Global Century Philanthropists" for the first time, listing the philanthropists with the highest donation value in the world in the past 100 years, ranking according to the total value of donations.
According to the report, in the last hundred years, the 50 people with the highest value of donations in the world have come from seven countries. Among them, the United States occupies the first place with 37 people, followed by the United Kingdom with 6 people, China with 3 people, India with 2 people, Portugal and Switzerland with 1 person each. First and foremost, the world's top three are naturally the most noteworthy.
1st prize: Jamseteji Tata
It is worth noting that the first place in the donation is Jamsetji Tata from India, and the total value of the donation is currently 670 billion yuan. Jamsetji Tata is also the founder of the Indian Tata Group. Currently, Tata Group is also india's largest group of companies and operates in seven sectors, including: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals.
It has a total of 31 listed companies, more than 100 operating companies, and its offices have spread to more than 80 countries in the world, with more than 450,000 employees worldwide. In this year's Hurun Fortune Global 500, Tata Group ranked 74th with a value of 1 trillion yuan. As the owner of such a large multinational company, it is not surprising that such a donation scale can be obtained.
Second place: Bill Gates & Melinda Gates
In second place were Bill Gates and ex-wife Melinda. The total value of the donation is 480 billion yuan. Notably, the total value of the donation includes the current asset value of $320 billion in the foundation founded by Bill Gates and the $160 billion that has been donated to date. As the founder of Microsoft and the former richest man in the world, he and his ex-wife founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 and have been committed to charitable funds, and the total value of 480 billion yuan has been spent on charity.
Third place: Henry Wellcome
In third place is Henry Wellcome of the United Kingdom, with a total donation value of 370 billion yuan. Henry Wellcome is the founder of Wellcome, a company that many people may not be familiar with or even have heard of. But in the UK, if you pay attention, you can often see research centers named after Wellcome. In the scientific research community, research grants and scholarships from the Wellcome Foundation can also be said to be abounding.
The Wellcome Fund is also the world's largest biological and pharmaceutical charity and has made significant contributions to human research over the years. In 1880, with a passion for medicine and marketing, Wellcome and friends founded the Wellcome Company. It was not until 1936 that Henry Wellcome died of illness, eventually leaving his legacy to the Wellcome Foundation, which has long been committed to health and welfare.
In addition to the world's top three, China's three richest people on the list are also eye-catching.
China first: Tencent Ma Huateng
According to the report, Ma Huateng ranked 34th with a total value of 40 billion yuan in charitable donations, and also ranked first in China. As the highest donation amount in China, Ma Huateng established the Tencent Charity Foundation as early as 2007 with an initial capital of 20 million yuan. In 2011 and 2012, Ma Huateng donated 109 million yuan and 141 million yuan to the foundation respectively, and said that he would donate 1% to 2% of his annual income every year in the future. And this year, when Henan experienced torrential rains and floods, Ma Huateng's Tencent was also the first to stand up and donate 100 million enterprises.
China second: Ali Ma Yun
According to reports, Ma Yun ranked 42nd in the world with a total value of 33 billion charitable donations. It is reported that Ma Yun donated 100 million yuan to Hangzhou Normal University in 2014 and established the "Hangzhou Normal University Jack Ma Education Fund". In 2015, Ma yun established a charitable trust fund by donating Alibaba's equity, which became the largest single individual donation in China at that time.
At that time, the market value of this part of the equity was about 14.5 billion yuan. The fund is mainly used in the fields of environment, health care, education, culture and so on. During the torrential rains in Henan this year, Jack Ma's Alibaba donated 100 million, Ant Group donated 100 million, and Jack Ma Public Welfare Foundation donated another 50 million. The entire Ali family equivalent to Ma Yun has donated a total of 250 million. Regardless of whether the donation is to save reputation or other reasons, this 250 million is indeed not a small amount, and it does bring real funds to Henan in distress.
China's third: Li Ka-shing
China's third on the list is Li Ka-shing of Cheung Kong Industrial, with a total donation value of 28.5 billion yuan ranking 46th. Li Ka-shing's philanthropy is rarely heard of. In 1980, Li Ka-shing first established the Li Ka Shing Foundation, which is mainly used for education, medical treatment and scientific research. And since the establishment of the Li Ka Shing Foundation, Li Ka Shing has stressed more than once that the Foundation is its third son. It is reported that before Li Ka-shing retired, his own wealth was distributed, of which the wealth volume of the foundation reached more than 30% of Li Ka-shing's total wealth.
At the beginning of 2020, as the epidemic swept through Wuhan, the Li Ka Shing Foundation also donated HK$100 million directly to Wuhan. It was also the highest donation amount among the richest people from all walks of life in Hong Kong, China at that time. Since its inception in 1980, the Li Ka Shing Foundation has donated more than HK$27 billion. And Li Ka-shing's philanthropy is still underway.
In general, philanthropy is often linked to entrepreneurs. After all, entrepreneurs' investment in philanthropy can shape the positive image of the enterprise and even bring more profits to the enterprise. Of course, no matter what the purpose, as long as it is a real contribution, it is worthy of respect. As ordinary people, we cannot use this to morally kidnap them, and donating or not donating, how much to donate, is actually the freedom of enterprises and rich people. Of course, as a responsible entrepreneur and a national enterprise, it is also worth advocating and encouraging to contribute to society.