But what does philanthropy mean in 2022?

And does it mean the same thing in the US as it does in the UK, asks Stephen Smith.

The American bitcoin wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried was one of the leading lights in a new philanthropy movement known as "Effective Altruism" (EA).

Instead of toiling away for a charity, supporters of EA favour making pots of money in finance and tech instead, and then giving it away to charity.

Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced his intention to give "most of my fortune away" in his lifetime, a generous-sounding gesture for a man who is worth $117.5bn according to Forbes.

He hasn't signed the Giving Pledge, a scheme launched by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to persuade their fellow super-rich that they should donate most of their assets to charity.

The British are reluctant to discuss their efforts on behalf of good causes, so much so that even the humble-brag "I don't like to talk about my charity work" is enough to bring on an attack of the vapours in certain self-effacing circles.

Footballer Marcus Rashford topped the Sunday Times Giving List in 2021 for his campaign against food poverty and this year's leading donors include racing driver Lewis Hamilton, footballer Mo Salah and rapper Stormzy.

Americans gave $484.85bn to charity in 2021, according to the National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) in the States.

US fundraising is the most developed in the world, according to Dr Breeze, with highly skilled campaigners building long-term relationships with those able to make big gifts.

Source: Sunday Times Giving List.

Churches are the biggest group of beneficiaries from American philanthropy, reflecting the insistence of the founding fathers on free, independent religious communities, separate from the state.

Faith organisations received 27% of donations in 2021, according to the NPT.

But you don't have to peer very far back into British history to discover a pattern of philanthropy at least as significant in shaping society as gifting by billionaires is in contemporary America.

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