Global Wealth and Society Programme

The Global Wealth and Society programme seeks to identify the important role that the privileged have towards their respective society. In building this programme, we measure wealth, not by the amount of financial assets individuals amass but by the positive impact they create on society through sustainable projects. Projects that are close to their hearts and which they believe to affect their immediate society in a deep and profound manner.

Based on this philosophy of contribution and giving back to the society, we identify these individuals as “Champions of Philanthropy” as part of our Global Wealth and Society Awards Programme.

Over the next few weeks until early October, our research team will be adding new names to the list and will be reaching out to them as part of the awards evaluation process.

The list below profiles selected Champions and their shortlisted projects across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East . In doing so, the list also tracks the way they are investing and deploying their wealth to bring about positive impacts on the society that they operate in.

Mansour Group

Founder Mansour family. Lotfy Mansour, Youssef Mansour, Mohamed Mansour ($2.3B), Yasseen Mansour ($1.5B), Ismail Mansour, Rawya Mansour - Egypt

Starting out as the Mansour Charity Foundation in January 2001, the Mansour Foundation for Development (MFD) was the first donor NGO to be fully funded by an Egyptian family. 2009 was a pivotal year for the foundation, as it expanded its activities and gained plaudits for its work. Social responsibility is built on passion, commitment, and duty. MFD is determined not just to assist community development, but to advance and build a society by offering individuals and institutions the widest possible range of development programs, mainly in education, health and capacity-building. The MFD aims to tackle illiteracy, poverty, and disease to contribute effectively to the development of Egyptian society.

Putera Sampoerna

Founder Putera Sampoerna Foundation - Indonesia

In 2001, tobacco heir Putera Sampoerna established the Putera Sampoerna Foundation (PSF). PSF is chaired by Michelle Sampoerna. As of a 2012 press release, PSF has disbursed more than 34,600 scholarships, organized workshops for more than 19,000 teachers and headmasters, and adopted 23 public schools and 5 Islamic elementary schools. The Foundation has 4 focuses of influence: quality education for high-achieving, but underprivileged students, job creation through entrepreneurship development programs, public enlightenment through the empowerment of women, and the distribution of aid and relief programs for compassionate and disaster relief. The Putera Sampoerna foundation launched Mekar in 2017 to distribute wealth where it is needed most by providing access to finance for small business in Indonesia through a business model which reaches offline and unbankable businesses and connects them with online wealthy lenders.

Family of King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

King Khalid Foundation - Saudi Arabia

Since the establishment in 2001, King Khalid Foundation (KKF) is the leading philanthropic institution aimed at improving social and economic development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. KKF uses its resources and expertise to make a positive impact in people's lives and works in partnership with other organizations to provide innovative solutions to critical social and economic challenges in the Kingdom. Whether it funds social and economic development projects; works on the human and organizational capacity building within the nonprofit sector; provides grants to nonprofit organizations; or awards citizens, non-profit organizations and corporations for their social responsibility and contributions, KKF provides people with the support and recognition necessary to strengthen the country’s social and economic position, the Foundation has accomplished a number of development and research projects through funding social and economic development projects including training, capacity building, research, and policy development programs; and by awarding the most outstanding citizens and corporations for their contribution to the social and economic development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Marwa El-Daly

Founder Maadi Community Foundation - Egypt

Maadi Community Foundation aims at reviving and modernizing the concept of endowment as a means for encouraging sustainable non-governmental financing and development in Egypt. Civil society's heritage in Egypt is deep-rooted and in order to begin and support development efforts that befit our time and are models for today's civil foundations we must utilize an old concept, the waqf endowment, so it is a channel to mobilize direct domestic resources towards sustainable development. Maadi Community Foundation plays a leading role among civil society organizations by adopting a permanent (firm) financial system and contribution paradigm.

Matthew Damon

Co-Founder Water.org - Ethiopia

Water.org Together with the 125 partners around the world, they have helped mobilize more than $1.8 billion in capital to support small loans that bring access to safe water and sanitation to millions of people in need. That’s how every $1 we put into WaterCredit creates $59 worth of impact.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Founder Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation - American Samoa

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is dedicated to the long-term health and wellbeing of all Earth’s inhabitants. Through collaborative partnerships and support innovative projects that protect vulnerable wildlife from extinction, while restoring balance to threatened ecosystems and communities. LDF has funded over 200 projects, in 50 countries and 5 oceans.

Garry White

Founder of the Garry White Foundation - Australia

The Garry White Foundation is committed to a sustainable Australia through funding inspirational people, projects and campaigns in the areas of education, conservation, climate pollution, and food sovereignty.

Ron Cordes

Co-Founder of Cordes Foundation - American Samoa

Annually allocate a portion of their assets to convene and build partnerships with social enterprises, and provide support to organizations working on gender equality and the economic advancement of women. With a particular focus on the global $2.4 trillion fashion industry (McKinsey 2016) and the women that make up the majority of its manufacturing workforce who are often especially vulnerable to low wage levels due to the persistent gender pay gap (Boston Consulting 2016).

Irene Pritzker

President of the IDP Foundation - Ghana

The IDP Foundation is dedicated to developing and supporting programs that are sustainable and move away from aid dependent models. She believes a combination of smart philanthropy and investment solutions can be galvanized to make that future a reality. Exemplifying this goal is the IDP Rising Schools Program, a carefully crafted microfinance initiative targeting existing but very poor private schools in Ghana. After a successful pilot with 105 schools with an initial enrollment of 27,000 children, the program is scaling and has currently reached almost 600 schools and impacted 150,000 children.

Michael Korchinsky

Wildlife Works - Kenya

Wildlife Works' mission is to harness the power of the global consumer to create innovative and sustainable solutions for wildlife conservation. The first proven project was the wildlife reserve in Kenya, the 80,000-acre Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary, which is now the heart of their 500,000 acre Kasigau Corridor REDD Project that protects an entire wildlife corridor between Tsavo East and West National Parks.