Capital and Philanthropy

Abstract

This paper examines charitable giving from wealthy individuals in both the United States and China. It assesses the motivations of wealthy donors and analyzes the donation trends from the top fifty philanthropists in the last decade in both countries. The data depicts that in both the United States and China, asset size increases more rapidly than donation rates over time. Capitalism offers a possible way to advance social development; however, increasing income inequality may damage the advancement. While substantial philanthropic engagement from wealthy individuals may be an important mechanism to balance capitalism and income inequality, the data indicates that collective sharing of capital continues to have room to further develop.