Big charitable gifts put education at the top of the tree in Asia, according to a report about philanthropy in the region.

A report shows that eduction attracts the most donations from Chinese entrepreneurs, at 35 per cent of the total, and part of a global trend of high net worth philanthropy.

Figures come from a new study by Hurun, which tracks the spending and doings of Asia HNW individuals, according to China Daily Asia. 

Charles Chen Yidan, co-founder of Tencent Holdings Ltd, is the second-biggest donor in the Hurun China Philanthropy List 2019, behind only Lu Weiding, CEO of the Hangzhou-based auto parts manufacturer Wanxiang Group, the news organisation said. 

Chen has donated RMB3.45 billion ($498 million), Chen is the biggest donor among internet tycoons for 2018.

Globally, there have been a number of big-figure donations to education institutions in recent months, such as that of media mogul and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. The trend has even prompted commentary about some of the complications brought by big gifts. Wealth management firms have also developed philanthropic advisory arms, realising that this area is an increasingly important business line.

Baidu CEO Robin Li and his wife have donated a total of 660 million yuan to set up a fund in Peking University. Alibaba Group Holding founder Jack Ma established the Ma & Morley Scholarship at the University of Newcastle in Australia.
The latest donation by Chen will be used to facilitate the matching of premium education projects worldwide and support educational development as well as pioneering projects in the field, he is reported to have said.

As reported in December 2018, Australian businessman Stan Perron, who died in November, left the majority of his $2.8 billion fortune to charity. Earlier in that month, the chairman of a Hong Kong business conglomerate donated RMB200 million ($29 million) to a Chinese university. The money from Lui Che-woo, chairman of K Wah Group and director of Lui Che Woo Charity, will be used for providing better research and teaching facilities, as well as supporting the development of medical, pharmaceutical science and other related disciplines for the university.

In Bloomberg’s case, he is giving $1.8 billion to John Hopkins University. The amounts involved in modern philanthropy, even allowing for inflation compared with the era of the Rockefellers, Mellons and Guggenheims, are huge. In May 2017, 14 billionaires said that they had signed the Giving Pledge, formally joining the other billionaires who have pledged to transfer at least half of their vast wealth to philanthropic causes. The Giving Pledge was started in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett.