The founder and chairman of indebted property developer Country Garden top a list of 34 Chinese business magnates who each promised to give away at least 100 million yuan (US$13.7 million) to charitable causes in the last year.
Yeung Kwok-keung, or Yang Guoqiang in Mandarin, and his daughter Yang Huiyan, respectively the founder and chairman of Country Garden, pledged to give away a combined total of 5.9 billion yuan to land atop the Hurun Philanthropy List, released on Wednesday. Much of that was generated in July, when Yang Huiyan gave away about 55 per cent of her personal stake in Country Garden’s property-management arm to a charity founded by her sister.
The 20th edition of Hurun’s annual ranking is based on a survey of “legally binding” pledges from September 1, 2022 to August 31, 2023. The 34 wealthy individuals who exceeded the 100 million yuan threshold promised to give away a total of 191 billion yuan. Donations made by companies are attributed to individuals according to their shareholding.
The troubled, debt-ridden real estate sector is still the “main source of donations” on the philanthropy list, as well as the main source of wealth on Hurun’s list of rich individuals, said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report.
Su Hua, co-founder of Kuaishou Technology, secured second place on the philanthropy list as a newcomer, donating 3.3 billion yuan. Su sold a personal stake of about 1.3 per cent in the company earlier this year for a charity that funds technology development and infrastructure investment.
He Xiangjian, co-founder of Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer Midea, followed Su with 3 billion yuan in donations for a science fund to boost artificial intelligence and climate research. He is the eighth richest person in China, according to Hurun’s 2023 billionaire list.
Yang Huiyan fell 39 places on the same list, according to Hurun, making her the 86th richest person in China, with a fortune of 48 billion yuan.
Chinese tech billionaires move up Hurun 2023 Rich List amid internet rebound
Chinese tech billionaires move up Hurun 2023 Rich List amid internet rebound
The Yang family has donated over 15 billion yuan in the past decade to causes like education and poverty alleviation, according to Hurun. However, the donation in July raised controversy at that time as Country Garden had wavered in both stock and bond markets for months as the company’s financial problems deepened.
The two decades since Hurun began compiling the list have seen a great increase in giving by Chinese tycoons.
Global billionaire tax could yield US$250 billion, EU researchers say
Global billionaire tax could yield US$250 billion, EU researchers say
“Whilst philanthropy is not keeping up with wealth creation, the number of individuals donating 100 million yuan or more in a year has risen to 34 this year from two 20 years ago,” Hoogewerf said.
Education remains the top destination for donations, followed by public welfare and rural revitalisation, Hurun said.
Among all of the donations, 67 per cent came from individuals and families, 17 per cent more than last year, while 33 per cent came from companies, according to Hurun.