Founded in 2010, the non-
profit nurtures talent,
primarily from the mainland,
and has created a bridge to
international museums such
as the Metropolitan Museum
in New York, Serpentine
Galleries in London and Musée
Marmottan Monet in Paris.
Michelle Ong 60
OWNER, CARNET JEWELRY
The celebrity designer, whose
jewellery was seen in the
movie The Da Vinci Code and
who has dressed movie stars
such as Kate Winslet and
Glenn Close, has been donating
and raising funds for charity
for more than 25 years. In
2010, she launched her First
Initiative Foundation, and it
has disbursed $3 million to
support cultural development,
musical performances and
arts education. Every year,
she brings together world-
renowned pianists, film-
makers, designers and artists
for charity performances,
followed by classes that they
hold for local students. Her
mission is to put Hong Kong
on the world stage in creative
arts. “There is nothing elitist
about music or the arts; they
bring beauty to everyone’s
life,” she says. “Hong Kong
people are focussed on
business, but we shouldn’t
ever forget our creative side.”Neil Shen 49
FOUNDING PARTNER,
SEQUOIA CHINA
In April, he donated nearly
$3 million to launch the Yale
China Fund for Emotional
Intelligence. The fund will
operate under the Yale
Centre Beijing to help train
children aged 3 to 6 years in
emotional intelligence. Last
year, he donated $7.3 million to
Shanghai Jiao Tong University,
where he had earned his
undergraduate degree before
heading to Yale for a master’s,
to set up a medical-research
fund. “I was greatly helped”
by those institutions, he says.indiaSanjeev
Bikhchandani 53
FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE VICE
CHAIRMAN, INFO EDGE (INDIA)
Internet pioneer who launched
job portal naukri.com amongother things started donating
in a significant way a decade
ago after taking his company
public. Recipients include
his high school, college and
business school, all in India.
“One must give back to
institutions that have moulded
you,” he says. He’s best known
for co-founding and being
an early donor to Ashoka
University, a private liberal
arts institution named after
an ancient Indian emperor.
He also backs several non-
profits that “are doing good
work” such as a charity that
focuses on services for disabled
people and another that helps
children with cancer. He has
donated $15 million so far.Subhash Chandra 66
CHAIRMAN, ESSEL GROUP
Media mogul and his three
brothers marked Essel’s 90th
anniversary by pledging $777
million in May to their DSC
Foundation. Its activities
include funding social
entrepreneurs. Simultaneously
he set up Sarthi, a non-profit
that connects citizens with
government. In addition,
the tycoon has given awaymillions through Ekal Global,
his 28-year-old charity that
has provided free education
to 1.4 million tribal children
in 55,000 villages. He says
he has long observed the
traditional practice of the
Agarwal community, from
which he hails, of donating
10 percent of his personal net
earnings annually to charity.Sanjay Lalbhai 62
CHAIRMAN & MANAGING
DIRECTOR, ARVIND
Textile magnate and his
wife Jayshree converted
their more-than-a-century-
old ancestral mansion in
Ahmedabad city into an art
museum that is free to the
public. It houses the family’s
collection of 130 pieces of
classical Indian art and
antiquities that was acquired
by Sanjay’s grandfather
Kasturbhai Lalbhai; the
museum is named for him.
It includes such treasures as
Mughal miniatures and a 16th-
century Persian manuscript
from the library of the
Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
An annex showcases the
couple’s contemporary
Indian art collection and
includes a cultural centre
and an exhibition space
for young artists.Anand Mahindra 62
CHAIRMAN, MAHINDRA GROUP
Has donated millions of dollars
over the years to causes such as
educating girls, providing clean
drinking water and supporting
tribal farmers. Chairs the
Naandi Foundation, which
has spawned three for-profit
social businesses. The first is
a joint venture with danone.
communities to set up low-cost
drinking-water plants across
the country, serving more80 | forbes india August 4, 2017
Cross Border
Neil shen at Yale
in 1990