Britain’s wealthiest people gave £200m less to charity in the past 12 months, according to the Sunday Times Giving List.
Hedge fund manager Paul Marshall is the most generous philanthropist in the UK according to the Sunday Times Giving List, in association with the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).
The list, which tracks the philanthropic activity of 100 of Britain’s wealthiest people, shows that they collectively gave £3.2bn to charity personally or through their charitable foundations or businesses, down by £200m on last year’s total giving.
According to the most recent accounts, nine out of the top 100 gave more than £100m in the past year, and 71 out of the top 100 gave less than 1% of their wealth.
Top philanthropists
Marshall topped the rankings by giving away about £2.8m a week, a higher proportion of his wealth (17%) than any other member of the list.
Worth an estimated £875m, Marshall is a founding trustee of Ark children’s charity and has donated £145m in the past 12 months.
The previous year’s top philanthropist Chris Hohn once again gave the most away in terms of overall amount (£601m) but came fourth when his donations were calculated as a percentage of his wealth (10%).
Also on the list are Alan Parker (£376m, 12%), Lord Edmiston (£92.1m, 11%), Andrew Law (£66.5m, 7%), and Henry Engelhardt and Diane Briere de l'Isle (£53.1m, 6%).
‘Concerning that giving is down’
CAF chief executive Neil Heslop said: “The UK is a generous country and high-net-worth philanthropy and charitable giving is crucial to our communities.
“It is a challenging time for charities as they face rising demand for their services alongside higher costs, so it is concerning that the Giving List this year indicates that giving is down.
“We must find new ways to foster a renewed culture of giving in the UK.
“As we celebrate those who continue to give so generously, it is more important than ever that those who can afford to give are inspired, so that together we give more.”
The Giving Index is compiled annually and calculates the proportion of total wealth donated or pledged to charity by those who appear in the Sunday Times Rich List.
It is based on accounts lodged with the Charity Commission, OSCR or private questionnaires received by 10 May 2023.
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