LEG A CY
W
IT’S A MISUNDERSTANDING THAT ASIAN PEOPLE HAVE NOT BEEN PHILANTHROPIC UP TO NOW
hen legendary Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-Fat—of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End fame—announced plans in late 2018 to give away his entire $715 million fortune to charity after his
death, the country’s media went into overdrive. One Hong Kong newspaper called the announcement one of
the biggest events in philanthropy to date. Another declared Chow, 63, the most selfless actor in the world and demanded other ultra-high net worth individuals in the region follow suit. Commentators waded in, pointing out the need for
philanthropic giving at a time when the country’s wealth gap has been at its widest for nearly half a century. Some questioned why, with the number of Asian billionaires exploding in the past few years, were there not more ultra- wealthy people in the region helping the less fortunate. However, this episode wasn’t the first time the generosity of
the region’s wealthy had been called into question. In 2010, when US billionaires Bill Gates and Warren
Buffett held a banquet in China to urge fellow tycoons to donate their fortunes to charity, many of their targets didn’t turn up. The incident sparked a fierce debate on social media: were China’s super rich really so stingy? By some measures, they had been. The World
Giving Index 2015, which ranked countries according to their charitable giving, named (and shamed) China and India as two of the least generous countries in the region across all segments of society, even though they had the second and third highest number of billionaires respectively. China was ranked 144 out of the 145
countries, with only 8% of the nation-wide sample donating to charities, while India ranked 106, with only 20% donating to charities. Consultancy Bain calculated donations of 10 crore rupees ($1.5 million) and above have declined 4% in India since 2014 even as the proportion of the ultra-rich — those with a net worth of over $50 million — grew by 12%. The Global Family Office Report 2018 by Campden Research and UBS found the average Asian family office gave an average of only $1.3 million to philanthropic causes—almost five times less than Europe’s average of $6.4 million. But with a lack of widespread data available, and no
institutional means to collect it, have the accusations levelled at the region been fair?
NUMBERS GAME The numbers don’t tell the full story, according to Johnny Hon, Hong Kong-based philanthropist and chairman of international venture capital company the Global Group. Since establishing Global Group in 1997, Hon has donated to more than 180 charities worldwide and served in senior
PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK
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