ws logo Saturday, 28 December 2024

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.

Michael Bambang Hartono & Robert Budi Hartono

Managing Director, Co-Founders, Djarum Foundation - Indonesia


Scholarship and dedicatedathlete development program, coaching clinic to rural areas, Supporting badminton related world championship 5000 athletes fully sponsored until 2017. World's no 1 Mixed Double (Tantowi Ahmad/Lilyana Natsir) and one of World's no 1 Men's double (Kevin Sukamuljo) are from Djarum Foundation.

Dato' Sri Tahir

Founder of Mayapada Group and Co-Chair, Tahir Foundation - Indonesia


Collaborate with UN refugee center (UNHCR)to provide cash assistance program for education and shelter covering 2 million refugees, and 10000 jackets for winter. He is the first Asian to work with UNHCR. The Fondation also contributes in bridging the gaps in health services, increasing capacity of effective organizations and programs, and fostering innovative solutions to persistent healthcare access problems and supporting educational institutes to nurture brightest talent in Indonesia.

Akio Nitori

Chairman, Nitori Holdings - Japan


The main goal was to help graduate students from around Asia to attend Japan's top universities. In 2014 the foundation, which holds a 3.5% stake in Nitori worth more than $660 million, started making grants to colleges in the U.S., Taiwan and Vietnam for scholarships.

Yusaku Maezawa

President/FounderSTART TODAY CO., LTD. - Japan


Maezawa is the founder of the Tokyo-based Contemporary Art Foundation, which he started in 2012 with a goal of "supporting young artists as a pillar of the next generation of contemporary art." The Contemporary Art Foundation aims to contribute to the promotion of contemporary art by helping young artists and young musicians improve their skills. It also carries out activities such as holding contemporary art exhibitions, etc., to popularize and improve knowledge and education of contemporary art; Popularization of contemporary art by holding contemporary art exhibitions, etc; Management of contemporary art award program; Providing grants to young artists and young musicians; Activities necessary to achieve the purposes of this foundation.

Manu Chandaria

Chairman and CEO, Comcraft Group - Kenya


Founded for over sixty years, Chandaria Foundation aims at helping the less privileged members of the society in eradication of Poverty alleviation and providing a sustainable environment for the community & the universe as a whole. The Foundation strives to elevate the community it lives in, through socio economic developments in Education, Health, Culture, Sports & Art, that are sustainable with a distinct bias in supporting children, handicap and the girl child as the family contributes as the voice of the voiceless.

Lee Joon Yong

Honary Chairman, Daelim Group - Korea


Foundation dedicated to the unification of the two Koreas with major focus on re-uniting families. Its Korean American Sharing Movement (KASM) empowers the future leaders of the Korean Peninsula. KASM cultivates leadership and understanding of building and developing human capacity.

Quek LengChan

Executive CEO and Chairman , Hong Leong Group - Malaysia


Improve educational outcomes for low income students, andprovide financial support for alleviating the plight of the abandoned and destitute elderly and children. The foundation identifies and develops innovative programmes that advance education and community development in Malaysia, in accordance with the charter of the Foundation. Providing grants for high impact, sustainable projects that aids the nation's poorest, it encourages community organisations to further the philanthropic mandate of the Founation.

Lim Wee Chai

Executive Chairman and Founder, Top Glove Corp. - Malaysia


Founded in 2009, the foundation has donated roughly $5 million to various causes, with a focus on education. Recent beneficiaries include several Chinese-medium schools in Malaysia as well as Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, which received $70,000 in 2015 to create a chair for the Top Glove Professor of Chemistry.

Aliko Dangote

Founder and Chairman, Dangote Group - Nigeria


Some of the Foundation's activities in Nigeria include, N1 billion for Nigerian universities including N500 million for development of a business school in Bayero University and N100 million for the proposed Otuoke University in Bayelsa State. The Foundation also disbursed N230 million to women in Kogi State as a micro grant as part of the Kogi Human Capital Development initiative. In order to alleviate the suffering of communities in Jos suffering from effects of a prolonged ethno-religious crises in 2010, the Dangote Foundation made a donation of relief materials worth N50 million to the community leaders.

Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu

Chairman, Heirs Holding - Nigeria


Founded in 2010, the foundation aims at enpowerment of African entrepreneurship, promotion of leadership and creation of integrated entrepreneurial ecosystem. The flagship programme, the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrapreneurship Programme is the largest African philanthropic initiative devoted to entraprenurship, representing a 10 year, $100 million worth of commitment to identify and empower 10,000 African entrapreneurs, create meaningful jobs adding $10 billion in revenues to African economy.