The world’s 50 most generous individuals in the last century came from five countries, overwhelmingly led by the US with 39, followed by 5 from the UK, 3 from China, 2 from India and 1 from Portugal and Switzerland. Their donations amounted to US$832bn, of which US$503bn are in foundations today and US$329bn have been disbursed in the last century.

With 38 philanthropists USA topped the list of countries, followed by the UK with 5 and China with 3.

The average age of the Top 50 foundations is 58 years. Nearly 66% of the Top 50 philanthropic institutions are managed by founders or founding family members and the remaining 34% managed by professional managers without the involvement of founding family members.