Hedge fund manager Chris Hohn has become the first British philanthropist to donate more than £1bn to charitable causes, according to the latest Sunday Times Giving List.

Based on figures for 2024 List compilers found that TCI Fund Management and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation founder Hohn donated £1.4bn, which is just under 17% of his total wealth of £8.5bn.

Children’s health and climate change were among the main causes Hohn donated to.

The Giving List tracks the philanthropic activity of the 100 individuals on the Sunday Times Rich List and the 40 Richest Under 40 in association with the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF). The newspaper is publishing its Rich List on 17 May.

Collectively they gave £4.9bn to charity either personally or through charitable foundations or businesses. This is up by £1.25bn on last year’s figures.

Researchers found that ten of the top 100 richest individuals listed gave more than £100m but a total of 63 gave less than 1% of their wealth.

“Our research shows that high net worth donors can be inspired by someone else's story,” said CAF managing director Mark Greer.

“However, we don't tend to talk about charitable giving in the UK, even amongst the ultra wealthy.

“We hope Sir Chris Hohn's generosity and openness inspires others to give and helps create a wider culture of giving to support hardworking charities that are crucial to UK society.”

Giving List compiler Nick Rodrigues added: “Sir Chris Hohn is the example we had hoped the list would deliver. His total contribution equals almost 30 per cent of this year’s Giving List total. What could be more inspirational than that?”

Also featured on the Giving List is Sir Elton John, who donated almost 8% of his £480m wealth to HIV/Aids, medical and humanitarian charities.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling also features, after giving away just under 2% of her £975m fortune to good causes supporting disadvantaged women and children.

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