How Do The Rich Give In A Crisis?
Philanthropy under normal circumstances is crucial, but during a global pandemic, contributions from the world's richest become that much more significant to survival and progress. The wealthy are expected to step up in times of crisis.
In the period between January and May this year, more than 10% of billionaires made a pledge in the fight against COVID19, according to a report by Wealth-X. Billionaires who committed to this cause were found to be younger, wealthier, and more likely to have created their own wealth—largely a reflection of a significantly greater proportion with technology as their primary industry.
Some of these individuals' contributions to the COVID-19 cause have received a large amount of media attention, including that of Jack Dorsey. The Twitter billionaire pledged to donate $1 billion to coronavirus relief efforts using his shares in Square. Marking the single most substantial contribution by a billionaire to the cause, Dorsey says the funds will be used to support women's health, education, and universal basic income after the COVID-19 pandemic.
In comparison, major billionaire philanthropists— those who have made at least one philanthropic donation of a minimum $1 million—tend to be older and are more likely to be attached to the banking and finance sector. Donations of this scale to a single cause often denote a focus on philanthropy, which tends to occur as billionaires grow older and step back from running their businesses to focus on more personal and emotive ambitions, such as creating a legacy and giving back to society.
The high representation of the banking and finance sector is partially explained by greater levels of liquidity, given the sector's high use of annual bonuses. Data also revealed that the small share of billionaires who inherited their fortunes (12.4%) tend to have a greater interest in philanthropy.
According to research, philanthropy is a favored interest of billionaires with more than half (50.9%) known to be actively involved in philanthropic giving, whether through their own charitable organizations or other means. Some billionaires who didn't make a donation or a pledge towards fighting COVID19, have instead committed to non-monetary contributions, such as the provision of personal protective equipment supplies. For example, co-CEOs of fashion titan Prada, Patrizio Bertelli, and Miuccia Prada, announced they had donated two intensive care and resuscitation units each to three hospitals in Milan.