Whilst we all feel the effects of the spread of COVID-19 across the world we take a look at the people who have been donating money to tackle the spread by supporting health care systems and finding a solution to stop this pandemic.
The Americas:
- Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey. He is donating $1 billion – one quarter of his fortune. “If any of the money was left over, it should go towards causes helping girls worldwide and those dealing with basic income”, Dorsey has reportedly said. He is an absolute leader among the greatest sponsors.
- Bill and Melinda Gates have been very involved in the crisis through their charitable foundation. They have contributed $100 million through the foundation to aid global detection, isolation, and treatment of the virus.
- Michael Dell, founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan Dell, are donating $100 million through their charitable foundation to combat the effects of COVID-19.
- Los Angeles billionaire Jeff Skoll, who focuses his philanthropic work on pandemics, will put $100 million into his foundation to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Western Europe
- Fast-fashion pioneer Amancio Ortega has spent nearly €63 million (US$68 million) on medical equipment for the Spanish Health System, including 1,450 ventilators, 3 million filter masks and 1 million testing kits.
- Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster and the world’s richest person under 30 with an estimated $12bn fortune, is donating $15.2 million to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
- Remo Ruffini, chairman and CEO of luxury sportswear brand Moncler, donated €10 million (US$10.9 million) to the hard-hit region of Lombardy, Italy, for the construction of a new hospital.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
- Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin owns just over a third of nickel and palladium producer Norilsk Nickel, which has pledged about $156 million on relief efforts. As of today, this is the second largest donation in the world. The funds will be used to purchase medical equipment, medicine, and PPE for healthcare institutions, and for Norilsk Nickel’s employees and businesses.
- Azim Premji, Indian tech magnate, Chairman of Wipro Limited, committed US$134 million through his philanthropic arm, the Azim Premji Foundation. The money will be used for humanitarian aid and for beefing up healthcare support targeted at containment and treatment of the disease.
- Bidzina Ivanishvili, billionaire and the ex-prime minister of Georgia, has donated US $32 million to the StopCoV Fund. The StopCov Fund was created by the Georgian government to accumulate funds to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.
- Uzbek-born tycoon and UK 7th richest person Alisher Usmanov has donated about $25 million to fight the coronavirus outbreak in his native Uzbekistan, and around $30 million in Russia where most of his businesses are based. His companies also directed over $100 million in financial and various forms of support in Russia.
Pacific
- Dhanin Chearavanont, a Thai billionaire businessman and senior chairman of CP Group, Thailand’s largest private company, has donated over THB700 million baht (US$21.6 million) to fund the company’s projects to fight the spread of COVID-19.
- Jack Ma, co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, has pledged $14 million through his Ma Foundation to help develop a coronavirus vaccine.
- Li Ka Shing, chairman of Li Ka Shing Foundation, has donated $13 million to help frontline medical workers in Wuhan, China.
- Andrew Forrest, non-executive Chairman of Fortescue Metals Group is using his Minderoo Foundation to commit $160 million to fly specialist medical supplies into Australia from China.
Africa
- Patrice Motsepem, South African billionaire, founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals will donate $57 million to help the pandemic. The money will be channeled through the government to build water, health and education facilities.
- Nicky Oppenheimer, a South African billionaire businessman and philanthropist, donated ZAR1 billion (US$52 million) to prop up the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.
- Mary Oppenheimer, the daughter of the late mining magnate Harry Oppenheimer, and her daughters, will be donating ZAR1 billion to a solidarity fund aimed at fighting the coronavirus too.