Philanthropist donates himself off the list of Britain's wealthiest people

27 Apr 2015 News

Richard Ross, chair of the Rosetrees Trust, donated 23 per cent of his wealth to charity in 2015, reducing his wealth so much he no longer qualifies for the Sunday Times Rich List, according to the associated Giving List, published yesterday.

Richard Ross, chair of the Rosetrees Trust, donated 23 per cent of his wealth to charity in 2015, reducing his wealth so much he no longer qualifies for the Sunday Times Rich List, according to the associated Giving List, published yesterday.

Ross (pictured) was named fifth in the Sunday Times Giving List, compiled in association with the Charities Aid Foundation, after giving away £23.1m of his £100m personal fortune to his Rosetrees Trust last year. The Trust, established in 1987, gives away over £2m a year in grants to medical researchers around the United Kingdom.

According to the Sunday Times, the 2015 giving list is the first to track the philanthropic habits of over 300 of Britain’s wealthiest individuals. Over £2.5bn was given away by those featured on the list in the last 12-months.

The Sunday Times say that thirteen years after the first publication of the giving list, the total of the rich giving at least 1 per cent of their residual wealth to charity stands at 106, a new record.

Labour peer Lord Sainsbury and his family donated both the largest proportion of their wealth, at 40.1 per cent, and the largest individual sum, £203.2m. Philanthropists Mike Uren (£51.9m or 30.52 per cent), Jamie Cooper Hohn (£91.7m or 27.20 per cent) and Dame Janet de Botton (£53.8m or 26.92 per cent) rounded out the Giving List’s top five.

The full version of the list is available for download here