Greed and six-figure bonuses may dominate the headlines, but many of the City and Wall Street's top earners are responsible for helping worthy causes around the world.
Following in the footsteps of notable historical benefactors such as Rockefeller, Carnegie, Guggenheim and Getty, the king of modern US philanthropy is billionaire investor Warren Buffet - the world's second-richest man.
In June 2006, he announced he would donate $30.7 billion (a sizable chunk of his reported $44 billion fortune) to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Formed in 2000, the organisation seeks to enhance healthcare and reduce poverty around the world, while expanding educational opportunities and access to IT in the US. Gates himself has committed $30 billion to the cause.
Budapest-born currency investor George Soros (who reportedly earned $1 billion from the UK's sterling problems in 1992) has used his vast wealth to aid former communist countries and fund numerous health initiatives. Since the 1970s, he has given away more than $4 billion.
Philanthropic acts are becoming grander and more common in the UK. In July 2007, Sir Tom Hunter - Scotland's first billionaire and founder of private equity partnership West Coast Capital - declared his intention to give his fortune to charity. His venture philanthropy, the Hunter Foundation, has invested £35 million in education and enterprise in Scotland.
Multi-billion-pound hedge fund trader Christopher Hohn gave £230 million to the Children's Investment Fund, a foundation he set up with his wife in 2005 to support projects in the developing world. This is thought to be the largest charitable donation ever made by a Briton in one year.
In July 2007, billionaire Peter Cruddas (the 'City's richest man') announced he would donate £100 million to good causes through his charitable foundation. East Ender Cruddas founded financial trading group CMC Markets with only £10,000 in 1989, setting up the Peter Cruddas Foundation in 2006 to support charities that help underprivileged young people.
"I left school at 15 and was kicked out to earn some money," he said, speaking to The Daily Telegraph. "I came from a council estate and my upbringing was really difficult. So I want to help young people. I want to build a £100 million-strong foundation using my own money over the next two years. It's quite obscene for one person to have such large amounts of money."
However, a new form of corporate benevolence has emerged, which is being dubbed 'venture philanthropy' or 'philanthro-capitalism'. Increasingly, donors aim to take on huge global issues by addressing causes not symptoms, while expecting measurable results for every dollar or pound they give. It seems that business and charity as not as mutually exclusive as some would have us believe.
Not all philanthropic acts centre on giving money. Many modern philanthropists, including those from the private equity world, donate their time, knowledge, drive and business acumen to a range of good causes.
August Equity investment manager Aatif Hassan led the construction of a water project in Kenya, as well as helping to develop a medical centre in Lahore, Pakistan. He put together loans from new shareholders on a not-for-profit basis, with the local community contributing 50p for every pound invested. He previously founded the Lucca Leadership Trust, which enables young people to make a positive contribution to their communities.
Hassan's next challenge is to build up a microfinance enterprise that will make small sums of money available to co-operatives in emerging economies. "Giving is important," he states. "I'm happy to provide my time. It's fulfilling - something I never want to stop doing."
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