UK’s richest donate smaller proportion of wealth to charity than average person

The UK’s richest people give a smaller proportion of their wealth to charity than the average person, according to research which suggests British millionaires donating just 1% could boost the sector by £12 billion.

The sum could be raised if each of the UK’s estimated 536,673 millionaires – known as high net worth individuals – were to donate 1% of their investable assets, the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) said.

Their research suggested this group gave the equivalent of 0.4% of their combined  investable assets – worth £2 trillion overall – in 2023.

This equated to an estimated £7.96 billion.

Meanwhile, the wider UK public donated an estimated £13.9 billion to good causes in the same year, equating to 1.6% of their income.

CAF said its report also reveals that the UK’s wealthiest people tend to support “significantly different” causes to those supported by the rest of the public.

The UK’s most popular cause was animal welfare, with 28% of the general public donating.

Education was the most popular cause for wealthy donors, supported by six in 10 high-net-worth individuals compared to 4% of the rest of the population.

Arts and culture was supported by just over a quarter (26%) of millionaires who donated, compared to 3% of the general public.

Edward Garrett, from CAF said: “The UK has a strong history of philanthropy, which has been behind some of our most important innovations and funds crucial charitable services throughout our country.

“But there is cynicism towards philanthropy in the UK, perhaps more so than other countries.

“There is considerable untapped potential for philanthropy to contribute towards tackling local, national and global challenges.

“Donors, particularly among the next generation, are increasingly considering their giving as part of the spectrum of capital they can invest within the broader impact economy.

“The Government can take steps to harness this and renew Britain’s culture of giving to strengthen civil society for the future, with high-net-worth individuals and professional advisers playing a leading role.”