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Philanthropist of Century

Indian industry legend Jamshedji Tata ranks ahead of Bezos and Gates as the philanthropist of the century

| @indiablooms | Jun 26, 2021, at 03:39 am

Kolkata/IBNS: Hurun Research and EdelGive Foundation has released the '2021 EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century', a ranking of the world’s most generous individuals and their institutions from the past century. Unlike the popular choice that many might have assumed to top the list- like Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates- an Indian industrialist stood ahead.

Jamshedji Tata, founder of the TATA Group and the 'Father of Indian Industry' who had started his philanthropist endowments dating back to 1892, was reported numero uno in the '2021 EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century'.

The founding of the Tata Group by Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata (3 March 1839 – 19 May 1904) blazed the trail for industrialisation in India and the noble idea of giving back to the society.

Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher of Hurun India said, "It was a proud moment to see an Indian top the 2021 EdelGive Hurun Philanthropists of the Century."

According to the results, the list overall was topped by the US with 39 philanthropists, followed by 5 from the UK, 3 from China, 2 from India, and 1 from Portugal and Switzerland. Their donations tallied at US$832 billion, of which US$503bn are in foundations today and US$329bn have been disbursed in the last century.

Vidya Shah, Exec-Chairperson of EdelGive Foundation, said, “The report lays down a narrative, indicating the path that the philanthropic sector has taken to get here/to this point, and charts the course that it may likely take moving forward.”

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report said, “Today’s billionaires are not keeping up with philanthropy, making money much faster than they are giving it away. The speed of wealth creation is nothing short of staggering."

He said three individuals added more than US$50bn in a single year, led by Elon Musk with US$151bn, on the back of the rise of e-cars, whilst e-commerce billionaires Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Colin Huang of Pinduoduo added US$50bn each.

At this rate, expect to see fifty or more break-through the US$100bn targets within the next five years, officials added.

This is the first year of the ranking and it shares an average age of 58 years amongst the listed foundations.

 

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