SINGAPORE - Some of the richest people in the world, such as American hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio, Indonesian coal king Low Tuck Kwong and Brazil-born Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, have set up foundations in Singapore to give to charitable causes in the past three years.
This comes as the Republic positions itself as a financial and philanthropic hub for Asia, driven by a flourishing wealth management sector and attractive tax incentives.
On May 5, it was announced that the Gates Foundation, one of the world's largest philanthropic foundations, will set up an office in Singapore.
Founded in 2000 by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his former wife Melinda, the foundation aims to fight poverty, disease and inequity around the world.
Gates, an American who turns 70 in October, is ranked 13th on Forbes' World's Billionaires List 2025, with an estimated wealth of US$108 billion (S$139 billion).
The Commissioner of Charities (COC) told The Straits Times that about five new charities each year have been registered under the Grantmaker Scheme in the past three years.
Typically funded by an individual, family or institution, philanthropic foundations are registered as charities under the Grantmaker Scheme, under which certain regulatory requirements are relaxed or waived to encourage philanthropy.
According to checks by ST, some foundations that have registered as charities here in the past three years include:
Other foundations registered in the past three years include the Rao Family Foundation, started by Indonesian gold mining tycoon Jimmy Budiarto and his wife, and the Karim Family Foundation.
The latter was set up by Bachtiar Karim, one of Indonesia's richest men and the chief executive of integrated palm oil firm Musim Mas Holdings, and his wife.
In response to queries, Hari Menon, director for South and South-east Asia at the Gates Foundation, said it had received an invitation from the Economic Development Board (EDB) to establish an office in Singapore - its first in South-east Asia.
He said: "We believe a Singapore presence will strengthen global health and development partnerships across the South-east Asian region, enhance cross-border collaboration, and reinforce Singapore's important role in innovation and philanthropy in the region."
He added that the foundation is working through the legal and regulatory aspects of starting an office in Singapore, and operational plans will be shared in time.
An EDB spokesperson said that the board engages leading companies, entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world about setting up their base in Singapore. This includes individual and business families that support the local innovation ecosystem through their foundations or family offices.
As more ultra-rich individuals from all over the world shift their wealth management to Singapore, such as by setting up family offices here, it is often a natural extension for them to set up their philanthropic foundations here too, said Pauline Tan. Tan is the principal consultant at Soristic Impact Collective, a consultancy that publishes a report on the largest private philanthropic foundations in Singapore based on their annual grant disbursements.
By the end of August 2024, there were 1,650 single family offices here, up from just 400 in 2020. Single family offices manage the wealth and financial affairs of only one family.
The Republic's generous tax incentives for charitable giving, the availability of high-quality legal, financial and philanthropic advisory services, and the stable political and regulatory environment are among the reasons for the growing number of foundations being set up here by both foreigners and locals, Tan added.
Singapore is also near countries in the region that some philanthropists want to help, she said. High-profile philanthropists such as Gates may have created more interest in giving among the very wealthy, creating a ripple effect due to their influence, she added.
Tan said: "There is also a growing public expectation for those with significant resources to give back. With greater media attention, philanthropic giving is becoming part of the journey in life for some of the ultra-wealthy."
Gates has said he plans to give away virtually all his wealth through the Gates Foundation in the next 20 years, to accelerate the foundation's work in global health and poverty alleviation.
In a blog post on May 8, he said: "People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that 'he died rich' will not be one of them. There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold on to resources that could be used to help people."
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
