Azim Premji, India’s most generous billionaire, has announced
a fresh bequest to his eponymous philanthropic initiative that boosts his total
commitment to Rs 1.45 lakh crore ($21 billion), making it one of the five
largest private endowments in the world and the biggest in Asia. This has
cemented the 73-year-old billionaire’s place alongside the world’s most
influential philanthropists including Bill Gates, George Soros and Warren
Buffett.
On Wednesday, Premji announced that all earnings
from approximately 34% shares of India’s fourth-largest software services
exporter WiproNSE -0.38 % — worth about Rs 52,750 crore ($7.5 billion) — would
be transferred to the endowment that supports the Azim Premji Foundation.
With this, Premji has committed earnings from
67% of Wipro’s shares to the charitable foundation. The Premji family and
entities controlled by them hold a 74.30% stake in the software exporter.
“It takes a bold mind like Azim (Premji) to
commit so much,” said Nilekani. “He will really be able to innovate and find
ways to address increasingly complex societal problems in India.”
Premji’s announcement comes at a critical moment
for Indian philanthropy.
Donations have Declined
The Indian Philanthropy Report released last
week by Bain & Company estimated that excluding contributions by the
Bengaluru based software mogul, donations of Rs 10 crore and above have
declined 4% in India since 2014 even as the proportion of the ultra-rich —
those with a net worth of over $50 million — grew by 12%.
“Premji’s grant for the nation matches only what
Jamsetji Tata and Dorabji Tata have done from a historical perspective,”
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