Recently, Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce company Alibaba, was named in Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Philanthropy, a testament to his transformative impact through the Jack Ma Foundation. Established in 2014, the foundation has focused on education, healthcare, and women’s leadership. Its most enduring legacy is its Rural Teachers Initiative, which has supported 1,001 teachers over the past decade, directly benefiting 1.2 million rural children across China.
Ma’s work reflects a characteristic feature of Asian private philanthropy, in which education and global-through-local changes have always been a priority. As Asia’s economies grow, philanthropists from across the region are stepping up, blending traditional charity with modern, scalable solutions. This evolving philanthropic landscape becomes particularly evident when examining cases from China, Uzbekistan, and India.
While Western philanthropists often fund global causes, China’s international aid has largely been government-led, such as the Global Development Initiative, which prioritizes the development and revitalization of the Global South through poverty alleviation, food security, actions on climate change, pandemic response and vaccine distribution, among other areas. China’s top donors have historically prioritized domestic projects, particularly in education and poverty alleviation. It is not simply about giving fish to those who are hungry, but more about teaching them how to fish. This approach is exemplified in the vast donations to universities and other societal development programs by Chinese business tycoons.
Although contributions to the educational sphere are generous, a noticeable gap remains between urban and rural areas. This is something that philanthropists may choose to focus on amending in the coming years. Still, the current giving by Chinese business leaders has been substantial.
In 2024, Yu Renrong, chairman of Shanghai-based Will Semiconductor, was honored as “China’s most generous” person in a ranking by research firm Hurun after he donated $745 million to a new university, the Eastern Institute of Technology, in his hometown, Ningbo. He also funded STEM scholarships and university programs, aligning with China’s push for technological self-reliance. His approach mirrors national priorities, ensuring that philanthropy complements State-driven development goals. Lei Jun, co-founder and CEO of smartphone giant Xiaomi, gave $183 million to his alma mater, Wuhan University, one of China’s leading tech institutes. He credits the school with “igniting his entrepreneurial passion” and presented the donation as a “birthday gift” on its 130th anniversary.
While universities are receiving generous endowments, there are also concerns about limited educational access for young minds in rural communities. Dang Yanbao (chairman of Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group) focuses on rural school infrastructure. His projects prioritize poverty reduction by improving access to quality education in underdeveloped regions. Dang and his wife, Bian Haiyan, co-founded the Ningxia Yanbao Charity Foundation, which allocates 10 percent of the company’s annual profits to its endowment. With a focus on education grants, the foundation has also subsidized university-bound students across Ningxia and Jiuquan, Gansu province. It has donated around $620 million, empowering 388,700 young scholars from western China to pursue their academic dreams.
Although Chinese donors dominate headlines, other Asian philanthropists are also making an impact with cross-border philanthropic initiatives. A billionaire of Uzbek origin and one of the early investors in prominent unicorns like Alibaba, JD, Xiaomi, and other IT startups, Alisher Usmanov, has made significant contributions to a range of charitable causes from cultural projects to supporting sports. Altogether, Usmanov’s philanthropic efforts, through personal donations and corporate foundations, are believed to total more than $3 billion. He contributed $100 million toward construction of the Center of Islamic Civilization in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and donated a collection of rare ancient books worth $8 million to the center. Due to be completed soon, it will be a unique cultural, scientific, and educational facility representing the culture and history of Islam in Central Asia. Usmanov’s Art, Science and Sports Foundation funds educational projects and cultural programs, promotes scientific development and knowledge exchange among specialists across various fields, and backs veteran athletes and Paralympians. Additionally, the foundation runs programs aimed at developing inclusive environments and addressing challenges faced by the blind and visually impaired.
Investing in teachers and students doesn’t just transform lives; it fuels entire economies. If Asia’s philanthropists continue to prioritize education and champion other important social causes, they will reshape the region for the better and contribute to a more equitable world
Or let’s take a look at Naveen Jindal, chairman of Jindal Steel & Power, India’s leading infrastructure conglomerate with interests in the steel, mining, and power sectors. In 2009, Jindal revolutionized India’s educational landscape by founding OP Jindal Global University (JGU), the nation’s first globally benchmarked institution, with an investment of more than $300 million. JGU has set new standards, thanks to its international faculty from 50 countries and partnerships with 500 global universities, all while ensuring accessibility. Half of JGU’s students have scholarships, reflecting Jindal’s unwavering commitment to democratizing knowledge. Thanks to its strategic location among the villages of Jagdishpur, Rathdhana, and Akbarpur Barota in Haryana, the university has catalyzed regional development by generating employment for over 25,000 residents. By bridging global education standards with local empowerment, JGU serves as both an intellectual hub and an economic engine, demonstrating how visionary philanthropy can simultaneously improve educational quality and uplift local living standards. This dual-impact model establishes Jindal as a pioneer in creating sustainable change through education and imaginative charitable initiatives.
As Asian philanthropists expand their influence, there is growing potential for them to collaborate globally, particularly in confronting inequitable education. Although a lot has already been done, there is still a persistent need to rectify systemic inequality vis-a-vis girls’ inferior education in some countries. Philanthropists may fund scholarships, mentorship programs, and safe school environments. To ensure inclusive economic growth, donors could prioritize both vocational training for marginalized communities (e.g., ethnic minorities and rural youth) and artificial intelligence-driven learning platforms in underserved regions.
Asia’s philanthropists are uniquely positioned to drive this change. With deep cultural respect for education and access to cutting-edge technology, they can redefine how philanthropy functions in this region. Investing in teachers and students doesn’t just transform lives; it fuels entire economies. If Asia’s philanthropists continue to prioritize education and champion other important social causes, they will reshape the region for the better and contribute to a more equitable world.
The author is head of the Center for European and Asian Studies at the Shenzhen MSU–BIT University, a joint venture established by Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Beijing Institute of Technology.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
