56 • The Sunday Times MagazineT
he fashion industry is culpable
for obscene amounts of
environmental damage and the
more I learn about its impact, the
more I reflect on my part within
it,” wrote Cara Delevingne as she
launched her charity, Initiative
Earth, with a £350,000 investment
last year. “I am learning from my
mistakes and I am dedicated to
making informed decisions, as well as
working with companies who are taking
significant steps in reducing their impact.”
It was a moment of self-awareness and
self-acceptance for the 29-year-old model
and actress, who is determined to use a
chunk of her £41 million fortune and her
influence (she has 43 million followers on
Instagram) to help protect the planet. She is
not alone. Recent surveys suggest that global
philanthropic spending to help halt climate
change stands at less than one or two percent of the total, but it is rising fast — and
Rich List philanthropists are at the vanguard.
The 21st edition of The Sunday Times
Giving List tracks more eco-giving than any
before it. Higher education continues to be
the most popular cause, as it has for decades,
but wealthy individuals are increasingly
likely to tout their green credentials.
Some, such as the billionaire hedge funder
Sir Chris Hohn, have been spending millions
on the issue for years. Hohn tops the Giving
List for the first time since 2010, with close
to £350 million of charitable expenditure.
He has spent £117 million in the past year on
climate change-related causes — more than
on any other cause — through his Children’s
Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF).
In 2019 it emerged that Hohn was one of
the leading donors to Extinction Rebellion,
the climate campaign group, to which he
gifted £50,000 personally, with a further
£150,000 thought to have come throughThis year’s Giving List —
our round-up of Rich
List philanthropists —
features more climate
activists than ever before.
Nick Rodrigues and
Alastair McCall report
GREEN
GIVING:
IT’S ALL
THE RAGE
Rich List 2022
“WHO WOULD HAVE
THOUGHT A HEDGE
FUND MANAGER WOULD
BE ONE OF THE LARGEST
BENEFACTORS OF
EXTINCTION REBELLION?”
Cara Delevingne, worth £41 million, is using
her high profile to back green causes. The
supermodel is No 35 on the Giving List