Azim Premji crowned ‘Most Generous Indian’ for the second year running

Anil Agarwal of Vedanta Resources breaks into top 3

Hurun Report launches Hurun India Philanthropy List 2014

• IT tycoon Azim Premji is crowned “Most Generous Indian”, donating ₹12316cr.

• Anil Agarwal of Vedanta Resources, came in second with a donation of ₹1796cr, primarily towards Social and Rural Development.

• Shiv Nadar came in third with a donation of ₹1316cr.

• Indian philanthropists becoming more generous. 50 philanthropists donated ₹10cr or more, up 19 on last year.

• Education remains the favoured philanthropic cause, accounting for 80% of the donations.

• Region-wise, South Indians are most generous, donating ₹13,300cr, five times donations of North Indians

• Mumbai is home to most of the Hurun philanthropists with 15 individuals, followed by Bengaluru and Delhi

• Ashish Dhawan (45) of Central Square Foundation is the youngest philanthropist on the list; oldest being Pallonji Mistry (85) of Shapoorji Pallonji.

• 11 of the Top 50 do not live in India.  Of these, 5 made their donations in India.

• 73% of the philanthropists are Self-Made. 37 Philanthropists are Self-made, compared to a mere 21 last year.

• The average age of is 56 years, same as the average age of the Hurun India Rich List.

•  42 of  the Top 50 are also listed in the Hurun India Rich List 2014.

• The Hurun Research Institute today released the Hurun India Philanthropy List 2014, a ranking of the most generous individuals from India.

(27 December 2014, Kochi)   Donations were measured by the value of their cash or cash equivalent from 1 April 2013 to 31 October 2014. This is the second year of the list and follows on from the Hurun India Rich List, a ranking of the 230 richest individuals in India, released in September for the third year running.

Despite keeping the same cut-off as last year of ₹10cr, the Hurun India Philanthropy List has grown to 50 individuals, 19 more than the 31 found last year.

Azim Premji (69) topped the Hurun Philanthropy List for the second year running, with a record-breaking donation of ₹12,316cr to his Azim Premji Foundation.  The foundation mainly donates to NGOs working in education. Premji was the first Indian to sign up for the Giving Pledge, a global philanthropic initiative spearheaded by Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. Premji was ranked 4th in Hurun India Rich List 2014 with a personal fortune of ₹86,100cr. Azim Premji states, "I strongly believe that those of us, who are privileged to have wealth, should contribute significantly to try and create a better world for the millions who are far less privileged".

Anil Agarwal (61), of UK-based Vedanta Resources, is second with a donation of ₹1,796cr. Agarwal has pledged to donate 75% of his family’s wealth to charity, His main focus is a new liberal arts and humanities-focussed University in India. Agarwal was ranked 25th in the Hurun India Rich List with a personal fortune of ₹₹12,316cr.

Shiv Nadar (69), the Chairman of HCL and founder of SSN Trust India is third on our list with a donation of ₹1136cr. Shiv Nadar committed a billion dollars to his foundation which focuses on providing high quality education to children from economically poor backgrounds. He also kick-started a developmental venture, Samudhay, to accelerate change in rural India.

Ratan Tata (77) donated ₹620cr to various charitable organisations for the underprivileged through the JRD TATA Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, rising to Number 4 on our list. The two trusts are working in the areas of nutrition & health, clean water to rural masses and health and hygiene. Through these trusts, he has strived to extend educational support to the underprivileged and hopes to give a brighter future to the country’s youth.

Mukesh Ambani (57) of Reliance Industries is Fifth on our Philanthropy List. Ambani, the richest man in India, donated ₹603cr towards Healthcare. “The Reliance Foundation promises quality healthcare for all”, quoting Mukesh Ambani at the inaugural ceremony of the Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai. Besides healthcare, his philanthropy interests include Social & Rural Development and Education.

Nandan (59) and Rohini Nilekani (54) stand Sixth in the list with a contribution of ₹498cr. Although Education has been their primary area of interest, they are also involved in Social & Rural Development and Healthcare in India. Recently a foundation chaired by Rohini Nilekani called Arghyam, a foundation that provides funds for organisations that work on groundwater and sanitation projects.

Education was the most important and sought after area of interest for the Indian philanthropists with a total contribution of ₹15,791cr. It was followed by Social and Rural Development (₹2,333cr), Healthcare (₹1,447cr) and Environmental Protection (₹12cr).

This year’s list has seen philanthropic donations by women entrepreneurs, individually and joint donations with their family. Namely, Anu Aga who individually donated ₹14cr, and joint donations by Rohini Nilekani, Zarina Screwvala and Yasmin Gupta, Savitri Jindal amounting to ₹987cr.

The average age of the philanthropists in the list is 56 years, the same age as the Hurun India Rich List.

The average age of Hurun India Philanthropy List of 2014, is 7 year younger than the previous year.  

There were 27 new faces in the list this year.

The total contribution of top 3 in Hurun India Philanthropy List 2014, shot up by 29% (₹3,508cr) more than previous year.

Region-wise, South Indians showed the way for making contributions with donations amounting to ₹13,300cr while North Indians pitched in with contributions of ₹3,764cr.

The philanthropists made their money mainly from the tech sector, also one of the biggest wealth creator on the Hurun India Rich List.

With 4 individuals, Infosys has created the highest number of philanthropists on the list.

Ashish Dhawan, is a good example of the new generation of Indian philanthropists. His transition from hedge-fund manager to philanthropist demonstrates a new wave of philanthropy in India.

Cardiologists Vijay and Khushman Sanghvi, made a difference by donating ₹12cr towards medical research. They are philanthropists who have made donations of more than ₹10cr and have not featured in Hurun India Rich List.

Ravi Pillai, has made 101 dreams come true by organising a mass wedding through his Ravi Pillai Foundation. Each bride was give 4 sovereigns of gold and ₹50,000 each.

“The Hurun Philanthropy List 2014 is a good representation of responsible entrepreneurship in India. Its quiet interesting to note that many entrepreneurs in India consider religious donations as Philanthropy. In this context we would have missed many more in philanthropists India.” said Anas Rahman Junaid, Publisher-at-Large of Hurun Report India.

Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher of Hurun Report, said “The fact that education is the most popular cause for India’s biggest philanthropists, shows that this is the cause they can have an immediate effect on.”

TABLES & STATS

Hurun India Philanthropy List 2014 - Top 10

Favoured Philanthropic Causes

Geographical Spread

Hurun India Philanthropy List 2014

Methodology

To put together a comprehensive list of the largest philanthropists of India is an almost impossible task. However, we believe at Hurun Report that, the Hurun India Philanthropy List is the most serious and authoritative effort to date, identifying the individuals and highlighting the causes they donate to.

To make this list, the Hurun Report surveyed 300 of India’s most successful entrepreneurs, including those from the Hurun India Rich List 2014, meticulously cross referencing the results with media reports and charitable foundations. In the course of the research, Hurun Report attended non profit-related seminars, as well as meeting with scholars, experts, philanthropists and senior members of charitable foundations.

Hurun Report includes cash and cash equivalents pledged with legally binding commitments for the twelve month period from 1 April 2013 to 31 October 2014.

Hurun Report included donations made by companies in which an individual had a significant share, by applying the percentage the individual has of the company on the donations. So, for example, JP Associates in the period made donations of INR 49cr, and Jaiprakash Gaur holds 45% of the shares of the company, so Hurun Report recorded Gaur’s donations as INR 22cr.

The list includes only individuals born and bred in India regardless of the passport they currently hold. Values are rounded, and past figures are subject to exchange rate fluctuations. 1 USD = INR 61.76