NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

China is home to the second largest percentage of the world’s billionaires, but philanthropy there remains a relatively new, emerging trend.

And yet, while China’s total charitable giving is a small fraction of the money generated in Europe or the United States, according to United Nations estimates, donations from top philanthropists in China have tripled from 2010 to 2016, reaching $4.6 billion, according to a recent study by Harvard University and Swiss bank UBS.

Mei Hing Chak, the president of HeungKong Group, a privately run conglomerate with holdings in property management, financial investment and other areas, founded China’s first private philanthropic foundation in 2005. Since that time, HeungKong Charitable Foundation has reached more than 2 million people across China with its direct emergency disaster relief, education and health services