Asia is home to more than 1,000 billionaires — a club of tech tycoons, real estate moguls, manufacturing kings, and financial services giants — who are expected to collectively sit on about $4.7 trillion in wealth by 2026.
While philanthropic giving in the region currently accounts for only a small slice of that fortune, it’s on the rise, fueled in part by the explosive growth of tech, the surge of unicorn startups, and booming financial markets.
For comparison, in the United States, giving has hovered at around 2% of gross domestic product for decades. If Asian donors were to match that, an estimated $702 billion could be unleashed. Major players already shaping the Asian philanthropy landscape include the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust in Hong Kong, the Nippon Foundation in Japan, the Tote Board in Singapore, the Tencent Foundation in China, and Tata Trusts in India, according to the Bridgespan Group, a philanthropic advisory group.