Famous faces charity donations revealed
Sir Elton John and JK Rowling have topped a list of the most generous celebrities, giving away more than ÂŁ37 million between them in the past year.
Sir Elton John and JK Rowling have topped a list of the most generous celebrities, giving away more than ÂŁ37 million between them in the past year.
The Rocket Man singer gave away ÂŁ26.8 million in 12 months, mostly to his Aids foundations in Britain and America, according to the Sunday Times Giving List.
Harry Potter author Rowling emerged as the second most generous celebrity, with ÂŁ10.3 million generated and donated by her charities the Lumos Foundation, which aims to end the institutionalising of children by 2050, and the Volant Charitable Trust, which funds projects that alleviate social deprivation, as well as research into multiple sclerosis.
The giving list is ranked by the proportion of wealth given away in the past year.
Stars of the sporting world also made significant contributions to charity, with David Beckham raising ÂŁ5 million and former Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie's foundation in memory of his mother raising ÂŁ4.5 million for cancer care centres.
Musicians also parted with their wealth for good causes, with Coldplay donating ÂŁ1.7 million and Ringo Starr raising more than ÂŁ6 million through an auction of Beatles memorabilia, with a portion going to his Lotus Foundation, which funds projects advancing social welfare.
Financial expert Martin Lewis, chef Jamie Oliver, golfer Rory McIlroy, boyband One Direction and Queen musicians Brian May and Roger Taylor also feature among the top celebrity givers.
Almost a fifth of the 1,000 people in the Sunday Times Rich List have donated at least ÂŁ1 million to charity in the past year, adding up to ÂŁ2.66 billion in donations.
The Sainsbury family topped the giving list for the third consecutive year.
They gave away ÂŁ220 million through a network of 18 trusts, equivalent to 40% of their residual wealth.
More than 30 billionaires feature in the top 200 givers, with Alisher Usmanov, the second-largest shareholder in Arsenal, giving more than ÂŁ100 million.
Stagecoach founder Sir Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag generated or donated more than ÂŁ20 million for mainly social, medical and Christian causes.