35% of Mideast millionaires plan to donate more in 2010

Around 35 percent of millionaires in the Middle East said they plan to increase their level of philanthropy this year, compared to the global average of 41 percent, according to the latest Annual World Wealth Report released on Tuesday by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

The report found while 55 percent of high net worth individuals (HNWIs), or those with investable assets in excess $1m, in the Asia/Pacific region plan to increase their philanthropic offerings this year. This is compared to 35 percent of HNWIs in the Middle East and an average of 41 percent globally.

Middle East HNWIs were second from the bottom in terms of their plans to increase their expenditure on philanthropy this year, beaten only by those in Latin America, where 33 percent said they plan to spend more on charitable giving.

The report also found that fifteen percent of Middle Eastern HNWIs said they plan to decrease their spending on philanthropy, compared to the global average anticipated decrease of twelve percent. However, the US is expected to see the biggest decrease by HNWIs, where twenty percent said they plan to cut their charitable spending this year.

Barbara Ibrahim, director of the Gerhart Centre for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement at the American University in Cairo, said that “many people in the Middle East do give as a proportion of their assets and their income after meeting basic needs… [but] if their incomes had been decreasing it might lead them to have a perception that they would be giving less.”

“My own observation in talking to the wealthy that we associate with, is that they are clearly doing more and more and doing their giving more strategically,” Ibrahim added.

The term ‘strategic philanthropy’ means addressing the root causes of global problems, rather than simply addressing the immediate symptoms, according to Ibrahim.

“So a charitable gift would provide for a hospital stay or a meal or clothing but a strategic philanthropic act would look at employment for young people that would address the causes of poverty and create educations opportunities,” she added.

The Cairo centre was set up in 2007 and aims to promote philanthropy in the Arab region.