Hong Kong business magnate Li Ka-shing topped the Hurun 2015 Global Chinese Philanthropy list followed by Alibaba's Jack Ma and Mark Zuckerberg's wife Priscilla Chan, according to the Hurun 2015 Global Chinese Philanthropy Report released yesterday.
The Li Ka-shing foundation, a HK-based charitable organization, has donated over HK$15 billion, or roughly US$1.94 billion, to education and healthcare projects, with 87 percent of them in China. He and his foundation have helped establish Shantou University and the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.
Li is the second wealthiest Chinese person, with a fortune of US$32.8 billion, having been overtaken by property tycoon Wang Jianlin earlier this year, according to the Hurun 2015 Global Chinese Rich List released last month.
Jack Ma, along with Alibaba cofounder Joseph Tsai, has set up two charitable trusts, funded by share options for about 2 percent of Alibaba's equity, which are worth 14.5 billion yuan, or about US$2.3 billion. The trusts of which Ma accounts for 70 percent will support causes related to the environment, healthcare, education and culture. Ma and his wife Cathy Zhang have also joined the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences Foundation and promised to donate 18 million yuan (about US$3 million) to the foundation every year.
Priscilla Chan and her husband have, since 2012, made sizable donations to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, including US$500 million in 2012 and US$1 billion in 2013 via Facebook shares. Last October, the couple donated US$25 million to the Center for Disease Control Foundation, and in May, they pledged US$120 million to support underserved public schools in the San Francisco and San Jose areas.
