Giving List reveals the UK's most generous philanthropists
Scotland's most generous person is the Marquess of Bute who last year gave away £9.1m of his £147m fortune - albeit to a foundation to benefit his own estates in Dumfries and Bute.
The figures are revealed in the Sunday Times Giving List 2018. It shows more than 300 philanthropists together donated £3.207bn to charity, up 0.3% on the £3.196bn donated in the previous year.
The list rates giving in terms of how much of a proportion of an individual's wealth goes to charity.
It means The Marquess came 17th overall while JK Rowling, the Harry Potter novelist, who gave more than £20m of her £700m fortune away last year, came second on the Scottish list but 27th on the UK list.
Sir Brian Soutar and his sister Ann Gloag, who are third on the Scots Giving List and 37th on the UK list, gave away £19.5m last year, amassed from their huge Stagecoach Holdings empire.
The siblings are known for their charitable giving with Brian previously funding a number of controversial pro-life causes.
Euromillions winners Colin and Chris Weir show no signs of their generosity abating either giving away £500,000 of their estimated £151m fortune last year. Overall they came 147th on the UK list.
In total Britain’s richest individuals gave away more than £3.2 billion to good causes last year, a small increase on the previous year.
Jamie Cooper headed up the Giving List overall for the second year, donating £299.6 million of her fortune to the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, a charity she founded with her ex-husband Sir Chris Hohn.
Second most generous philanthropist in the UK was Lord Sainsbury and family. Sainsbury who donated £224.4m, or just over 40% of personal wealth into a network of 17 family charitable trusts focusing on the arts, education and humanitarian causes.
Sir Elton John, who was the 10th-biggest giver last year, slipped out of the top 10, giving away £24.3m, 8.11% of his fortune, down from £34.3m, or 11.8%, last year.
John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: “It’s fantastic news that people on the Sunday Times Rich List gave a record £3.207bn to charities last year. The people who make up the Sunday Times Giving List are a tremendous example of the huge contribution that wealthy entrepreneurs, sports stars and business people can make to the causes we all care about.
“As a charity which works with hundreds of thousands of generous donors and sent more than half a billion pounds to charity last year, we know the enormous difference generous donors can make.”
The top Scots on the list are:
| Name | Wealth | Donation (2017) | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Marquess of Bute | £147m | £9.1m | Mount Stuart and Bute Estates |
| JK Rowling | £700m | £20.4m | Women, children, medical research |
| Sir Brian Souter and Ann Gloag | £825m | £19.5m | Social, religious, humanitarian, drug abuse |
| Sir Ian Wood | £1.7bn | £29.1m | Community, education, regional, humanitarian |
| Sir Tom Hunter | £580m | £7.2m | Education, child poverty, social |
| Sir David Murray and Family | £126m | £1.5m | Health |
| Alastair Salvesen | £520m | £6m | Education, sport, health, arts, science, children |
| Sir Andy Murray | £83m | £0.7m | Children, community, social |
| Colin and Chris Weir | £151m | £0.5m | Health, sport, culture, leisure, animal welfare |
| The Thomson Family | £1.4bn | £3m | Various |
And in comparison, here's the top UK givers on the list:
| Name | Wealth | Donation (2017) | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Cooper | £337m | £299.6m | Children, nutrition, environment |
| Lord Sainsbury and family | £550m | £224.4m | Education, arts, humanitarian |
| Sir Chris Hohn | £1bn | £299.6m | Children, nutrition, environment |
| Janet de Botton and family | £200m | £53.2m | Education, science, health, arts |
| Sir Mike Uren | £140m | £20.6m | Medical, education, armed forces |
| Jonathon Ruffer | £425m | £57.1m | Community, arts, social, religious |
| Tony Travis and family | £150m | £20.1m | Community, medical, environment |
| Sir Paul Marshall | £520m | £63m | Children, education, rehabilitation |
| Tony and Maureen Wheeler | £112m | £11.9m | Medical, cultural, education |
| David and Heather Stevens | £202m | £17m | Overseas, environment, children |
