FUNDING TO NON-UK UNIVERSITIES BY THE UK'S TOP 200 PHILANTHROPISTS - 2020

Introduction

Funding by the UK’s 200 top philanthropists – as identified by the Sunday Times / Charities Aid Foundation 2020 Giving List – shows that £640m has been given to 228 non-UK universities over the past six years.

The Giving List index ranks major donors according to the proportion of their wealth that they give away. The total charitable assets for the 2020 top 200 philanthropists was £23.56bn. Giving by Britain’s leading philanthropists is either made as a direct gift or through their dedicated charitable trust.  According to our research:

  • 90 percent of the leading philanthropists covered in the Sunday Times Charities Aid Foundation Giving List index have established dedicated charitable foundations through which to channel their giving.

  • Higher education featured significantly in this year’s index.  According to the compilers of the report, higher education is seeing a steep rise in giving from philanthropists.  61 percent of the top philanthropists are reported by the Sunday Times to prioritise their giving to education, including higher education.

  • Mark Greer, head of private clients at CAF, reports there is a clear increase in philanthropists giving to higher education, saying that the “American tradition seems to have taken hold here as universities adjust to an environment with significantly less public funding. Given the challenges that universities will no doubt face following the coronavirus pandemic, this move to supporting higher education with significant gifts could not come at a better time for so many of the UK’s institutions.“

  • The scale of the giving by the most generous in the UK to overseas universities points to the increasing internationalisation of university philanthropy.

Courtesy of Tyler Harris

Courtesy of Tyler Harris

  • The Sunday Times / Charities Aid Foundation reports that fewer people are giving, but those who do are giving larger amounts. It goes on to report that “Compared to last year, the number of HNWIs giving 1 percent of their wealth to charity has remained the same at 72 whilst charitable assets have grown by 3.6 percent to £23.56 billion”.

  • The rise in giving appears to mirror the significant rise in accumulation of wealth by High Net Worth Individuals.  According to the OECD, HNWI wealth ballooned from US$28.8 trillion to US$63.5 trillion between 2013-16.  A study published in August 2019 shows that the total wealth of the Top 1000 Richest in the UK has boomed from £519bn in 2014 to £771bn in 2019.

  • 66 out of the top 100 philanthropists have given to universities and higher education institutions over the past 6 years – both in the UK and overseas. 33 out of the UK’s top 100 philanthropists have given £609m to non-UK universities in the past six years.

  • In 2014, philanthropists made donations of over £45m to 60 non-UK universities; by 2018, over £256m was donated to 96 non-UK institutions.

  • 28 percent of the Top 200 Sunday Times Giving List (55 in total) have made 578 donations to 228 non-UK universities in 39 countries over the past six years.

  • US institutions are the preferred destination for UK giving to foreign universities.  107 universities received £376m between 2014-19, representing 59 percent of all donations to non-UK overseas universities.

  • 63 European universities received £187m or 29 percent of giving. Norway and Germany are the preferred destination of UK giving to European universities.

  • The top five destinations for university giving by leading philanthropists are:

  1. United States (£376m)

  2. Norway (£167m)

  3. Israel (£47m)

  4. Hong Kong (£14m)

  5. Germany (£5m)

  • .The single biggest individual donor to non-UK universities in the past six years is the Anglo Ukrainian billionaire Sir Len Blatvanik who, through his Blavatnik Family Foundation, has made 45 donations to 16 universities in Ireland, Israel and the US, totalling  £220m (Sir Len has also been a generous benefactor of UK higher education, notably Oxford University). 

  • Trond Mohn and his family have given £167m in the past six years to a number of Norwegian universities, while Marit Rausing and her family – including daughters Lisbet and Sigrid – have given over £56m to 21 universities in seven countries.

  • Harvard University is the biggest beneficiary of giving to a non-UK university. It had received nearly £192m since 2014.

  • The second biggest beneficiary is the University of Bergen which has received nearly £130m in six years from Trond Mohn.

  • University of Chicago is the third biggest recipient following a pledge of over £40m by California-based Briton Sir Michael Moritz and his wife Harriet Heyman.

  • Sir Michael and his wife, have given to the widest number of non-UK universities.  His CrankStart foundation has given 111 donations to 54 universities amounting to £43m over the past six years.  All are US institutions. In 2014 Sir Michael gave to three universities, by 2018 (latest figures available) his giving jumped to 50 institutions.

  • Through his Oak Foundation, Alan Parker has made 63 disbursements to 41 universities in 11 countries totalling over £27m.

  • Lord Rothschild is a prolific supporter of European universities and has  given to 37 European universities since 2014 through his Rothschild Foundations.

  • Founder of Elma Philanthropies, Clive Calder appears to be biggest donor to African universities. Elma Philanthropies appears to be registered in the British Virgin Islands, and so does not disclose how much it disburses. According to our research it has given to at least 23 universities since 2014, 17 of which are in Africa.  His giving is likely to run into the tens of millions of pounds.

  • The overall financial data reported is a conservative figure. Some notable philanthropists such as Clive Calder chooses not to disclose financial details. Charitable accounts for 2019 for US-based British philanthropists - notably Sir Len Blavatnik and Sir Michael Moritz - have yet to be published.