Philanthropy is a top hobby for wealthy individuals, and while there is always a need for giving, philanthropy has taken on a new importance over the past 18 months.
High-net-worth individuals play an outsized role in philanthropy and continue to do so amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Globally, they donated $5.8 billion in direct response to COVID-19 in 2020, accounting for 27% of all COVID-19 philanthropy, according to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
There's more to the story of how high-net-worth individuals responded to the pandemic through philanthropy, so read on for additional insights.
Note: in this article, we'll use the following definitions:
- High-net-worth (HNW) individuals: those with a net worth over $5 million.
- Very-high-net-worth (VHNW) individuals: those with a net worth between $5 and $30 million.
- Ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals: those with a net worth over $30 million.
Key findings
- High-net-worth individuals gave $5.8 billion in philanthropic funding for COVID-19 in 2020 -- 27% of all COVID-19 philanthropy that year.
- In 2020, ultra-high-net-worth individuals gave, on average, over $2 million each to COVID-19- and social-justice-related causes. Overall, they were most likely to support educational initiatives in those areas.
- Five donors made philanthropic donations of over $1 billion in 2020: Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Michael Bloomberg, Philip and Penelope Knight, and Jack Dorsey. Scott was responsible for nearly all of the $968 million of COVID-19 philanthropy that high-net-worth individuals designated for BIPOC communities
- Google was the sole corporation to give more than $1 billion in COVID-19-related philanthropy.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Jack Dorsey's Start Small LLC each gave $1 billion toward COVID-19 philanthropy in 2020.
High-net-worth individuals gave $5.8 billion worth of COVID-19-related philanthropic funding in 2020
HNW individuals made $5.8 billion in COVID-19-related philanthropic donations in 2020, according to data collected from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. That amounted to 27% of philanthropic funding for COVID-19 among major donor groups.
Only corporations and corporate foundations combined gave more with roughly $9.4 billion, worth about 44% of donations among major donors.
Two other data points suggest that high-net-worth donors are powerhouse givers. While they were responsible for over a quarter of donations by value among major donor groups, HNW individuals composed just 4% of donors among major donor groups and distributed only 1% of gifts given, which are defined by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy as publicly announced donations above $50,000.
Philanthropic funding for COVID-19 by donor type: 2020
| Donor type | USD awarded | Number of gifts | Number of donors | USD awarded (%) | Number of gifts (%) | Number of donors (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporations/corporate foundations | $9,415,853,877 | 1,750 | 641 | 44% | 5% | 51% |
| High-net-worth individuals | $5,803,696,229 | 223 | 48 | 27% | 1% | 4% |
| Independent foundations | $4,682,915,564 | 7,497 | 230 | 22% | 23% | 18% |
| Public charities | $649,973,621 | 5,551 | 167 | 3% | 17% | 13% |
| Community foundations | $542,783,790 | 17,734 | 167 | 3% | 54% | 13% |
| Operating foundations | $330,223,663 | 8 | 4 | 2% | <1% | <1% |
The average annual giving in 2020 from ultra-high-net-worth individuals to COVID-19-related causes or social justice-related causes was over $2 million
Ultra-high-net-worth philanthropists that gave to COVID-19-related causes or social justice-related causes between January through October 2020 gave, on average, over $2 million, per data collected by Wealth-X.
| Group | Average annual giving |
|---|---|
| UHNW COVID-19 philanthropists | $2.8 million |
| UHNW social justice philanthropists | $2.6 million |
| UHNW major philanthropists | $1.3 million |
Wealth-X (2020). "COVID-19 Philanthropy: Spotlight on Major Giving in 2020."
Ultra-high-net-worth donors were most likely to give to educational causes in their area of giving, as well as healthcare and medical research, social services, and arts and culture. Unsurprisingly, all areas that have been impacted by the pandemic.
Percentage of philanthropists who contributed to specific sectors
| Sector | UHNW COVID-19 philanthropists | UHNW social justice philanthropists | UHNW major philanthropists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 80.80% | 87.50% | 63.50% |
| Healthcare and medical research | 69.20% | 68.10% | 48.80% |
| Social services | 65.90% | 69.40% | 47.10% |
| Arts and culture | 54.90% | 62.50% | 44.60% |
| Children and youth development | 39% | 37.50% | 28.60% |
Five donors gave philanthropic awards of over $1 billion in 2020
Among the high-net-worth philanthropic community, five donors stood out by giving over $1 billion in 2020: Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Michael Bloomberg, Philip and Penelope Knight, and Jack Dorsey.
They focused on a variety of causes:
- Jeff Bezos made headlines by pledging $10 billion to establish the Bezos Earth Fund and $100 million to Feeding America's COVID-19 Response Fund.
- MacKenzie Scott donated over $5 billion to a variety of charities and causes, from COVID-19 relief and education with a focus on historically black colleges to social justice and gender equity.
- Michael Bloomberg devoted funds to COVID-19 relief and the pandemic's impact on existing inequalities.
- The Knights gave to their own foundation and the University of Oregon.
- Jack Dorsey seeded his own foundation, Start Small LLC, with roughly $1 billion.
| Name | USD awarded | Wealth source | Top cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Bezos | $10,150,000,000 | Technology | Environmental conservation |
| MacKenzie Scott | $5,734,000,000 | Technology | Human services |
| Michael Bloomberg | $1,600,000,000 | Media | Various |
| Philip and Penelope Knight | $1,365,667,500 | Manufacturing and retail | Higher education |
| Jack Dorsey | $1,099,237,116 | Technology | Pandemic relief |
MacKenzie Scott was responsible for nearly all of the $968 million of COVID-19 philanthropy that high-net-worth individuals designated for BIPOC communities
MacKenzie Scott accounted for almost all of the $968 million in specific COVID-19 philanthropic contributions that high-net-worth individuals gave to black, indigenous, and other people of color communities, per the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
The pandemic not only exacerbated many inequalities that minority groups face -- it occurred as social and racial justice movements picked up steam across the United States.
The only other high-net-worth donor to designate COVID-19 philanthropy specifically to BIPOC communities was Colin Kapernick, according to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
Scott and Kapernick were responsible for 44% of COVID-19 philanthropy that specifically designated funds for BIPOC communities, more than any other major donor type.
Overall, major donors designated nearly $1.5 billion for BIPOC communities, 35% of all COVID-19 philanthropy.
COVID-19 philanthropy specifically for BIPOC communities
| Donor | USD awarded | Percent of funding from donor type |
|---|---|---|
| High-net-worth individuals | $968,100,000 | 44% |
| Independent foundations | $292,273,240 | 32% |
| Community foundations | $145,305,179 | 29% |
| Public charities | $28,396,854 | 21% |
| Corporations/corporate foundations | $63,769,330 | 11% |
| Donor | USD Awarded | Percentage of all COVID-19 philanthropy |
|---|---|---|
| All donor types | $1,497,944,603 | 35% |
Google was the only corporation to give more than $1 billion in COVID-19-related philanthropy
Corporations are significant players in COVID-19 philanthropy, although only Google gave more than $1 billion in 2020.
ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, gave $436.8 million while the Wells Fargo & Company Contributions Program gave $400 million.
Seven of the top ten corporate donors are headquartered in the United States. The top corporate donors outside the United States were ByteDance, along with Itau Unibanco, the largest bank in South America, located in Brazil, and Royal Holding Al Mada, a private investment fund controlled by the Morrocan royal family.
Philanthropic funding for COVID-19: Top corporate donors
| Name | Location | USD awarded | Number of gifts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google.org | California, United States | $1,157,750,000 | 17 |
| ByteDance | China | $436,840,000 | 10 |
| Wells Fargo & Company Contributions Program | California, United States | $400,000,000 | 1 |
| MasterCard Incorporated Contributions Program | New York, United States | $275,300,000 | 3 |
| StartSmall LLC | California, United States | $256,366,996 | 106 |
| Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. | Brazil | $239,826,923 | 1 |
| Cisco Systems, Inc. Corporate Giving Program | California, United States | $220,000,000 | 4 |
| Visa Foundation | California, United States | $210,000,000 | 2 |
| Royal Holding Al Mada | Morocco | $197,912,028 | 1 |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | Minnesota, United States | $175,000,000 | 1 |
Two independent foundations gave $1 billion to COVID-19 philanthropic efforts: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation
Some high-net-worth individuals and families opt to funnel their philanthropy through their own foundations, two of which gave over $1 billion in COVID-19 philanthropy: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation.
Independent foundations by total COVID-19 funding: 2020
| Name | Location | USD awarded | Number of gifts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Washington, United States | $1,327,529,040 | 398 |
| The Rockefeller Foundation | New York, United States | $1,111,490,484 | 86 |
| The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation | New York, United States | $215,510,000 | 11 |
| Open Society Foundations | New York, United States | $200,000,000 | 2 |
| Bloomberg Philanthropies, Inc. | New York, United States | $166,300,000 | 7 |
| Ford Foundation | New York, United States | $141,464,495 | 191 |
| Lilly Endowment Inc. | Indiana, United States | $134,625,000 | 18 |
| The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation | New Jersey, United States | $119,593,314 | 230 |
| Michael & Susan Dell Foundation | Texas, United States | $110,000,000 | 200 |
| Minderoo Foundation Trust | Australia | $100,537,600 | 1 |
Jack Dorsey's Start Small LLC received the most COVID-19 philanthropic funding in 2020: $1 billion
Start Small, the philanthropic foundation spun up by Jack Dorsey, received $1 billion from the co-founder of Twitter and Square to put toward COVID-19-related causes, making it the top recipient of COVID-19 philanthropy in 2020.
The donation from Dorsey was worth roughly one-fifth of his net worth at the time and stands out as among the largest donations from an individual in response to the pandemic.
Dorsey's approach has turned some heads both because of the magnitude of money available to be dispersed through Start Small as well as the speed, transparency, and relatively little bureaucracy associated with the foundation.
Other top recipients include the Gavi Alliance, which aims to make vaccines more available in low-income countries, the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator, which is working on making new, accessible therapeutics to fight COVID-19, and Feeding America, a network of food banks in the United States that received $100 million from Jeff Bezos in 2020.
Top recipients of COVID-19 philanthropic funding: 2020
| Name | Location | USD awarded | Number of gifts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start Small LLC | California, United States | $1,000,000,000 | 1 |
| Gavi Alliance | Switzerland | $415,000,000 | 6 |
| COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator | Washington, United States | $198,000,000 | 9 |
| Feeding America | Illinois, United States | $126,660,100 | 37 |
| Easter Seals (national office and affiliates) | United States | $126,000,000 | 1 |
| South African Future Trust | South Africa | $111,263,880 | 2 |
| The Skoll Foundation | California, United States | $100,000,000 | 1 |
| Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund | India | $91,388,110 | 6 |
| UK Community Foundations | United Kingdom | $89,192,124 | 44 |
| Solidarity Response Fund | South Africa | $83,447,910 | 2 |
The role of high-net-worth donors in philanthropy
Philanthropy today has taken on a new importance. In many areas, and in light of a decline in corporate giving and donations from non-high-net-worth, high-net-worth individuals have stepped up.
With more giving comes more scrutiny, and there's a growing conversation about the effects that philanthropy driven by fewer and fewer donors may have on the independence of charitable organizations that rely on those donations. More attention is being paid to which causes are receiving funding from high-net-worth individuals, how those causes are selected, and whether they reduce inequality or tackle the root causes of the problems they seek to address.
Some high-net-worth individuals, like Jack Dorsey and MacKenzie Scott, have been explicit in shaping their charitable efforts to respond to critiques of the now outsized role that high-net-worth individuals play in philanthropy.
Regardless of the debate over high-net-worth giving, at the end of the day, studies have found that most charity is driven by altruism-that people are simply driven to help those in need regardless of what they get in return.
Studies have also found that financial constraints are the primary barrier to giving.
By making the world smarter, happier, and richer, The Motley Fool hopes to enable more individuals to give back. The Motley Fool Foundation, a new public charity with the goal of unlocking financial freedom for all, will launch later this year, and extend The Motley Fool's long tradition of giving.
Sources
- The Atlantic (2018). "Against Big Philanthropy."
- The Center for Disaster Philanthropy (2021). "Philanthropy and COVID-19: Measuring one year of giving."
- The Chronicle of Philanthropy (2021). "The Philanthropy 50."
- The Conversation (2017). "5 reasons why people give their money away – plus 1 why they don't."
- The Financial Times (2018). "Is wealthy philanthropy doing more harm than good?"
- MacKenzie Scott (2021). "Seeding by Ceding."
- Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (2021). "Dell Foundation Covid-19 Projects."
- The New York Times (2020). "Jack Dorsey Vows to Donate $1 Billion to Fight the Coronavirus."
- Wealth-X (2020). "COVID-19 Philanthropy: Spotlight on Major Giving in 2020."
- Wealth-X (2021). "Interests, Passions and Hobbies of the Wealthy in 2021."
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