“Whilst American and European philanthropists may have dominated the thinking of philanthropy over the last century, Jamsetji Tata, founding father of India’s Tata Group, is that the world’s biggest philanthropist,” Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, said during a statement.
According to the report, the entire philanthropic value of Jamsetji Tata is formed from 66% of Tata Sons, solely supported the worth of listed entities. Born in 1839 in Navsari, a city in south Gujarat, Tata made his fortune within the 1870s after floating the Central India Spinning Weaving and Manufacturing Company. He found out the JN Tata Endowment in 1892 for education , which was the start of Tata Trusts.
Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, often mentioned him because the ‘one-man planning commission’.
With total donations of $74.6 billion, Gates and his now-estranged wife Melinda French Gates are second on the list of top philanthropists of the century. The duo will remain co-chairs and trustees of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with ‘no changes’ to their roles or the organization. Other philanthropists on the list include UK’s Henry Wellcome, Hughes , Warren Buffett, and George Soros.
The only other Indian on the list is Azim Premji, founder chairman of Wipro Limited. Premji is usually called the Czar of the Indian IT Industry. Since 2010, Premji has transferred 67% of Wipro to the Azim Premji endowment . The Azim Premji Foundation along side Wipro has donated $150 million for combating coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
