Philanthropy by the ultra-wealthy has increased by a third in the last three years to reach $250 billion, according to new research.
In 2025, individuals gave $650 billion in philanthropy worldwide, with UHNWs giving just under 40 per cent of that figure, according to Altrata’s High Net Worth Philanthropy 2026 Report, released today.
UHNW giving has grown by 7.3 per cent a year between 2018 to 2025, putting it ahead of foundations which has grown by 6 per cent a year and non-UHNW individuals by 4.6 per cent.
Speaking to Spear’s, Altrata’s Maya Imberg, head of thought leadership and analytics, said: ‘the ultra-wealthy, people with £30 million or more, they’re becoming, I think, ever more important to non-profits in terms of their donations.’
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‘I think that non-profits have to look more to individuals and corporations for some of their funding. They kind of don’t have a choice, really,’ she added.
According to a report from June this year by Chatham House, US international aid stood at $60 billion a year before President Trump took office for his second term and has been cut by almost 40 per cent since then.
The ultra-wealthy cohort identified by Altrata with £30 million or more consisted of ‘almost 557,000 people’ worldwide in 2025, the organisation said, accounting for 1.1% per cent of the ‘global millionaire class’.
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Environmental causes grow in popularity
Maeen Shaban, Altrata’s director of research and analytics, told Spear’s that the environment is gaining traction with this group as the favoured philanthropic cause.
‘My favourite example is Michael Bloomberg,’ Shaban said. Bloomberg announced a $285 million commitment to clean energy in June this year.
At the time, Bloomberg said the money was intended to help clean energy counter ‘incumbent energy sectors that have spent decades building political influence, technical expertise, financing networks, and institutional power’.
‘[Bloomberg’s] always been a big donor to that cause, but he’s never given a gift that big,’ Shaban added.
The report looked at the philanthropic causes that have increased the most in popularity amongst donors with a net worth of over $5 million in recent years. It compared the relative increase in the number of individuals making donations between 2021 to 2025 compared with 2015 to 2020.
Environment, conservation and animals saw the largest rise with a 25.5 per cent uplift, with the remaining top five made up by healthcare in second, social services in third, arts and culture in fourth and education in fifth.
While UHNW philanthropy remained ‘highly concentrated’ in North America and Europe, the report also found that the geography of philanthropy is becoming more diversified across Asia and the Middle East.
Giving by the ultra-wealthy in Asia was up 42.2 per cent to reach $34.4 billion compared to 2022, while in the Middle East, UHNWs donated 27.4 per cent more than in 2022, with a total figure of $10.9 billion.
