What could be more inspirational than that?': The first Briton to donate £1.4billion in a year to charity

Sir Chris Hohn has become the first billionaire in Britain to donate more than £1billion within a single year after giving away £1.4billion to charitable causes.

The hedge fund manager topped The Sunday Times Giving List 2026 after donating the record-breaking sum through his philanthropic ventures focused on climate change and children’s health initiatives.

Sir Chris, founder of TCI Fund Management and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, reclaimed the number one position on the annual rankings.

The 59-year-old’s donations represent around 16.8 per cent of his estimated £8.556billion fortune.

His contribution alone accounted for nearly 30 per cent of the entire Giving List total this year, establishing a new benchmark for charitable giving among Britain’s wealthiest individuals.

According to the rankings, the top 100 philanthropists collectively donated £4.982billion over the past year, marking an increase of £1.251billion compared with the previous year.

The figures also showed that 10 individuals on the list donated more than £100million each during the past 12 months.

Despite the record figures, the data revealed that 63 of the top 100 donors contributed less than one per cent of their total wealth to charitable causes.

The hedge fund industry continued to dominate the highest levels of the rankings, with several finance figures appearing among Britain’s largest philanthropists.

Sir Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman secured second place after donating £627.6million towards democracy, education and community projects.

Dan and Melanie Marsden, aged 33 and 32 respectively, were named the youngest entrants on this year’s list.

Among the best-known figures featured in the rankings, Elton John placed fourth after donating £37million to HIV and Aids research, medical charities and humanitarian causes.

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The singer’s donations represented 7.7 per cent of his estimated £480million fortune.

J. K. Rowling ranked 21st after donating £18.8million to support disadvantaged children and women’s charities.

Lewis Hamilton donated £5.7million towards diversity initiatives in sport, placing him joint 30th alongside the Shepherd family.

Ed Sheeran also featured among the notable names included on this year’s Giving List.

Gary Lubner, who has become Labour’s largest donor, made his debut appearance on the rankings after contributing £32.5million to refugee and community causes.

Mark Greer, managing director of the Charities Aid Foundation, said: "Our research shows that high net worth donors can be inspired by someone else's story."

Mr Greer added: "However, we don't tend to talk about charitable giving in the UK, even amongst the ultra wealthy.

"We hope Sir Chris Hohn's generosity and openness inspires others to give and helps create a wider culture of giving to support hardworking charities that are crucial to UK society."

Nick Rodrigues, compiler of The Sunday Times Giving List, said: "The Giving List was created 22 years ago to encourage everyone to give whatever they can to worthy causes.

"Sir Chris Hohn is the example we had hoped the list would deliver.

"His total contribution equals almost 30 per cent of this year's Giving List total. What could be more inspirational than that?"