According to a survey released Thursday on ultra-wealthy charity, a growing group of individuals with a net worth of $30 million or more are contributing more than ever before.
According to an Altrata analysis titled “Ultra High Net Worth Philanthropy,” the cohort donated US$190 billion to philanthropy in 2022, up nearly 25% from the previous set of statistics in 2018. Within that sum, the world’s 3,200 billionaires contributed 8% of total individual giving.
Altrata, a London-based analytics business, discovered that the global ultra-wealthy population has grown by more than 40% in the last decade, reaching more than 400,000 persons in 2023. Overall, the survey revealed healthy growth in philanthropy, albeit from a smaller, but wealthier group of individuals, with their combined net worth reaching US$48 trillion.
The seventh edition of the report, released with data from Wealth-X, a subsidiary of Altrata, collated insights into ultra-wealthy giving, concentrating on the scale and reach of generosity by the world’s richest individuals.
The research highlights a philanthropic community concerned with ongoing global and socioeconomic concerns, as individuals and younger contributors feel more empowered to effect meaningful change on their own rather than through established governmental institutions and organizations.
As younger people become a larger share of the world’s wealthiest, there is a growing desire to have a “visible and ‘transformational’ impact,” according to the research.
“This shift is more of an evolution than a clear break,” explains Maya Imberg, Altrata’s head of thought leadership and analytics and study author. “Transformational contributions often demand huge sums of money, which younger contributors do not afford until they have amassed great wealth. Nonprofits will face the challenge of engaging younger contributors, who have different giving perspectives than their older counterparts.”
Philanthropic contributions by individuals, organizations, and public foundations worldwide is expected to reach $810 billion in 2022. (The report does not include giving by corporations and governments.)
The most popular philanthropy cause overall was “sports” (defined as a “active leisure pursuit, means of social relaxation, or investment focus”), which ranked at the top or at the top in all regions and among the majority of ultra-wealthy individuals. Education, arts and culture, healthcare, and medical research were also among the top priorities.
According to the survey, women are more likely to donate to causes, while accounting for only 11% of the ultra-wealthy population. North America continues to have the highest level of individual giving (US$90.6 billion), followed by Europe (US$62.2 billion) and Asia (US$24.2 billion). Giving from American-based sources alone amounted to $84.5 billion in 2022, demonstrating the great concentration of wealth in the United States.
According to the survey, about 20% of ultra-wealthy individuals have a foundation. That figure jumps to over 30% for people wealthier than $100 million.
“Perhaps not surprising, but we found that charitable generosity was not impacted by whether a UHNW individual’s wealth came from inheritance or was self-made,” Imberg said.
Individual giving continues to surpass institutional giving, and the ultra-wealthy are playing an increasingly important role. In 2022, they accounted for over 38% of total global donations, up 2% from 2020.