Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s pledge to donate the equivalent of $45 billion of his company’s shares will give a significant profile boost to philanthropy, an executive director at Coutts says.

The social media trailblazer promised recently to give away 99 per cent of their Facebook shares (worth roughly £30m) to philanthropic efforts during their lifetime – including to help cure disease.

Lenka Setkova, executive director at Coutts, said: “Everyone's philanthropy journey is very personal - as are their motivations for giving.

“Mark Zuckerberg's pledge clearly raises the profile of mega philanthropy and shines a light on important debates about what philanthropy is for and how it can make a positive difference. It also highlights the trend of that many philanthropists are choosing to give in their lifetime.”

Asked if it was important that such well known figures were seen to be making these donations as a way to encourage further philanthropy, she said: “Yes.
“But understandably not every philanthropist wants to be in the limelight - so there are many who are doing excellent work but are not in the public eye.

“Coutts plays a key role in growing and inspiring philanthropy around the world through the production of our Million Dollar Donors Report.

“Not only does the report track the scale and nature of donations of $1m or more, but it includes inspiring interviews with major philanthropists. These interviews play a key role in illustrating the benefits of philanthropy and encouraging peers to give.”

She said: “In addition to the benefits philanthropy can bring to wider society, at Coutts we often see that philanthropy forms a key dimension of families think about the wider meaning and purpose of wealth. For example, philanthropy can help convey family values, prepare the next generation for the challenges and opportunities associated with wealth succession, and in some cases it can leave a lasting legacy.”

Examples of recent mega-grants made in as recorded by the Coutts Million Dollar Donors Report:

US: $2.1bn as part of Warren Buffett’s annual contribution to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; $650m by Ted Stanley to fund the Stanley Centre for Psychiatric Research; and $500m gift-in-kind by Jerry Perenchio to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

UK: £105m to establish the Bet365 Foundation and £60m to Great Ormond Street Hospital

Singapore: $374m given by the Tote Board to various causes. This organisation is unique in that it is mandated by the government to give away its revenues

Middle East: $232m by the Saudi Fund for Development to foreign aid in Jordan; $149.6m by the Chairman of Al Jaber Group to a children’s hospital in Egypt; and $104m by the Saudi Islamic Development Bank to the UN World Food Programme (funding aid for refugees in Syria, Ethiopia and Kenya). But the non-repetition of 2013’s $1.25bn gift by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development means that the Middle East total in 2014 was down substantially on the previous year

Hong Kong: $1.18bn by Joe Tsai of Alibaba Group to establish a private foundation; $350m by the Morningside Foundation to the Harvard School of Public Health; $167m by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for a teaching hospital at The Chinese University of Hong Kong; $167m by the Galaxy Entertainment Group to establish a corporation foundation supporting Macau; and $150m by Ronald Chao of Novel Enterprises to establish the Ba Xian Education Foundation

China: $2.37bn by Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba Group, to establish a private charitable trust