Philanthropy 50: Which Australians gave away the most in 2023? 

Australia’s three biggest philanthropic foundations gave out $585 million last year, making up almost half of total spending by the top 50 givers.

Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation placed at No. 1 on the Financial Review Philanthropy 50 list for the first time, spending $225 million. Minderoo was followed by Yajilarra Trust, established by MYOB founder Craig Winkler and his wife, Di, and the Paul Ramsay Foundation, which was set up after the billionaire died in 2014.

Overall spending by the country’s high-net-worth givers jumped 12 per cent to a record $1.25 billion in the 12 months to June 30, outpacing spending by companies and the mass market.

“The big end is really marching along very solidly,” says John McLeod, senior research consultant at JBWere Philanthropic Services, who has been compiling the list for The Australian Financial Review Magazine since 2017.

The Forrests overhauled Minderoo last year, injecting $5 billion worth of Fortescue shares. After acknowledging it had targeted too many causes, the foundation said it would put more emphasis on Australia and the Asia Pacific and focus on three key areas: helping vulnerable communities, promoting gender equality and protecting oceans.

In the lead-up to the Voice referendum, the Paul Ramsay Foundation was the biggest donor to Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, giving just over $7 million to the charity behind the Yes23 campaign. The Yajilarra Trust donated $4.5 million to the University of NSW’s philanthropic unit, which has had a long association with the Voice through its Indigenous Law Centre.

“Donations to support the Yes campaign for the Voice referendum were generally made with a view to advancing the lives of Indigenous Australians and so are considered a social issue, fitting under charitable causes,” says McLeod, adding this was different to supporting a political party. “The main organisations receiving the funds were registered charities with tax-deductible status.”

McLeod notes that for five of the past six years, the Philanthropy 50 list has grown at a faster rate than the Financial Review Rich List. “We can always argue at what level everyone should be giving out. But the Rich List keeps going up, and it’s really nice that the giving list has gone up at a faster rate.”

Universities, arts and medical research are still the main beneficiaries of high-net-worth philanthropy. But as the younger generation moves up the ranks, including Canva co-founders Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins and Atlassian’s Mike Cannon-Brookes, there has been more spending on the environment and international aid.