Recently, Hurun Research Institute officially released the "2024 Hurun China Philanthropy List," ranking the top philanthropists in China based on their donations over the past year.

Data shows that from September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2024, a total of 23 tycoons in China donated more than 100 million yuan, with a combined donation of 10.2 billion yuan.

Specifically, Yu Renrong topped the list with a donation of 5.3 billion yuan, becoming China's top philanthropist for the first time, while Lei Jun ranked second with a donation of 1.3 billion yuan.

Some may not be familiar with Yu Renrong, who is the boss of Will Semiconductor. Currently, Will Semiconductor is among the top 10 IC design companies globally and the largest semiconductor equipment company in China. Its CMOS chip subsidiary, OmniVision Technologies, ranks third globally in CMOS chip market share, comparable to Sony and Samsung.

Yu Renrong is also the richest man in China's chip industry, ranking in the top 100 on the "2024 Hengchang Shaofang · Hurun China Rich List" and first in the chip industry with a wealth of 42.5 billion yuan.

Additionally, as shown in the image above, the top 10 donors in the past year also include Dang Yanbao, Ni Yongpei, Ye Chenghai's family, Yang Yuanqing, Zhang Yiming/Liang Rubo, Shao Genhuo, Guan Jiechu/Wu Qilan couple, and Li Ka Shing. All of them donated more than 100 million yuan in the past year.

According to Hurun's statistics, many tycoons in China have donated significant amounts. Seven of them have donated over 15 billion yuan over the years, including He Xiangjian of Midea, Lei Jun of Xiaomi, Li Ka Shing, Liu Qiangdong, Ma Huateng, Ma Yun, and Yang Guoqiang/Yang Huiyan father and daughter.

Those who donated between 5 billion and 10 billion yuan include Lu Weiding, Wang Jianlin, and Yu Renrong. Additionally, there are even more donors in the 3-5 billion yuan range and below 3 billion yuan.

Most of these donations went to the education sector. In 2023, 58% of donors contributed to education, and this proportion increased to 70% in 2024, a 12% increase.

Social welfare ranked second with 19% of donors, while healthcare ranked third with 7%.

The image above shows the list of top donors over the years. You can see who China's top philanthropist was each year and how much they donated.

In fact, for these tycoons, wealth is just a number because many of them have more money than they could ever spend in several lifetimes. People spend their money differently; some prefer to donate, while others enjoy spending it elsewhere. Of course, these are all voluntary choices, and we should not impose moral judgments.

However, for those tycoons who are willing to donate, we should show them the utmost respect. Here's a question: If you were in their shoes, would you donate?