Nandan Nilekani and Nikhil Kamath Recognized on Forbes Asia Heroes of Philanthropy List
Recognized on the 17th edition of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy roster released today are Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys, KP Singh, chairman emeritus at DLF, and Nikhil Kamath, co-founder of Zerodha.
Forbes mentioned in a statement that the unranked compilation “showcases business leaders who are contributing from their wealth and dedicating personal effort and attention to their chosen causes.”
In the yearly collection, which highlights 15 philanthropists, corporate giving is not included except for privately-owned businesses where the person is the principal owner.
Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chairman of the technology behemoth Infosys, has been included for his donation of Rs 3.2 billion (USD 38 million) to his former school, IIT Bombay, in June, as per Forbes. This generosity will be spread out over a five-year span.
This gesture commemorated his five-decade connection with the engineering school, where he pursued an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering.
Since 1999, Mr. Nilekani has contributed a total of Rs 4 billion to the institution. In the past year, he also gave an additional Rs 1.6 billion towards educational endeavors.
Mr. Singh, who relinquished his position as DLF chairman in 2020, sold off his remaining direct holding in the real estate enterprise in August to finance charitable undertakings, as reported by Forbes citing the corporation.
He raised Rs 7.3 billion from the sale of his 0.59 percent stake in the property firm based in Delhi.
The 92-year-old Singh, who is worth an estimated USD 14 billion, divides his time between London and Dubai.
Following the establishment of the K.P. Singh Foundation Trust and the KP Singh Charitable Foundation Trust, Singh introduced the KP Singh Foundation in 2020.
Mr. Kamath, who was featured on Forbes’ philanthropy list, pledged his commitment to the Giving Pledge initiative in June.
In his pledge statement, the 37-year-old co-founder of the discounted brokerage Zerodha expressed his focus on climate change, energy, education, and health, in addition to the foundation’s goal of fostering a more just society.
Forbes reported that Mr. Kamath’s YouTube podcast series ‘WTF is’ has been donating up to Rs 10 million (USD 120,000) – funded by Kamath and business executives who appear on his program – to a charity designated by viewers.
Mr. Kamath, with an estimated net worth of USD 1.1 billion, intends to boost episode donations to Rs 40 million, it further stated.
(With the exception of the title, this article has not been altered by NDTV staff and has been sourced from a syndicated feed.)