Middle East’s wealthy more generous than rich North Americans

The Middle East’s wealthy individuals are more generous philanthropists than those from North America, according to a new report.

Arton Capital and Wealth-X’s global philanthropy study showed that individuals with a net worth of $30m or more in the Middle East gave a median of $5m last year, 50 per cent higher than those in North America.

While it said even larger sums could be given in the future thanks to rising wealth levels in the region.

In the global study, giving by UHNW individuals rose to an all-time high in 2015, up 3 per cent on the previous year.

On average UHNW people were found to donate $29.6m during the lifetime, with global public lifetime giving estimated at $550bn.

Unsurprisingly wealthier individuals were found to be the most generous with their fortunes, with those that donated at least $1m in their lifetime found to have an average net worth of $300m.

Major donors were also found to have a greater share of their wealth in liquid assets, at $85m on average, and typically donate half of their cash holdings to charity over a lifetime.

Self-made individuals were found to represent 70 per cent of major donors, while education and house were the top causes.

“Ultra-wealthy individuals in the Middle East give nearly 10 per cent of their net worth to philanthropic causes, which does not even account for the substantial Zakat and Sadaqah charitable contributions made anonymously across the region,” explained John Hanafin, CEO of Arton Capital in MENA.

“The trends identified in this report are truly global, with the ultra-wealthy behaving in similar ways whether they are from Shanghai or Zurich or New York, and the Middle Eastern members of this club are no different, which demonstrates the global connectivity of wealth in the modern world.”