4 Indian Philanthropists Make Forbes Philanthropy List

Forbes released its latest 48 Heroes of Philanthropy list which included philanthropists in the Asia-Pacific region from countries like Japan, Hong Kong, China, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and more.

Four Indians have made it on the list of the latest Philanthropy list from Forbes. Forbes said their 48 Heroes of Philanthropy list ranges from billionaires with expansive visions of how best to help society to less well-known business people whose generosity is also leaving a huge mark. Their goal is not to rank the biggest givers–the figures would be impossible to collect. Instead, Forbes aims to call attention to people and causes.

The Forbes effort in compiling this philanthropist list was in the hopes that it will encourage more people to support worthy causes, which are the same goals for why the website PhilanthropistList.com was started.

PhilanthropistList.com hopes that by publishing news about philanthropy and giving, it will influence others to give. Philanthropist List also wants to stress the point that you don’t have to be rich or successful to give. You can give your time, skills, and efforts as a form of philanthropy and giving.

In no particular order, here are the four Indian philanthropists who made Forbes Philanthropist List:

Ashish Dhawan: Ashish Dhawan is the Founder and CEO of Central Square Foundation (CSF). Dhawan serves on the board of several non-profits including GiveLife, Akanksha Foundation, 3.2.1 Education Foundation, Centre for Civil Society, Janaagraha and Teach For India. Ashish Dhawan hopes to bring a fresh impact-based approach to philanthropy in India.

Rohini Nilekani: Rohini Nilekani, the wife of the Infosys Co-founder, raised nearly 163 crores by selling off her shares in Infosys for philanthropic work. She is the founder of the charitable trust ‘Arghyam’ and has invested in causes that span the environment, education and water.

Ajay Piramal: The Chairman of the Piramal Group, Ajay Piramal is an Indian businessman, whose made a career out of buying cheap assets and selling them at a high value and is considered the “Warren Buffet of India”. His works include the plan of delivering better healthcare solutions and providing clean drinking water through his Foundation. According to the report on the Forbes, Ajay Piramal has donated close to $6 million over the past 4 years to the Piramal foundation to provide good resources to the public.

Desh Bandhu Gupta: Desh Bandhu Gupta is an Indian pharmacist who has a net worth of $3.5 billion. His dream to fight life-threatening infectious diseases and manufacture drugs of the highest national priority led to the formation of the industry. His Desh Bandhu and Manju Gupta foundations aim at providing skill developments for self employment opportunities. He aims to create a model that can be taken up in the rural areas for their upliftment.