High net worth donors

High net worth (HNW) donors are key actors in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, providing financial and other resources to civil society organizations and, at times, public projects.

While definitions vary, there is relative agreement that a HNW individual or couple has financial assets of at least $1M USD (excluding the value of their primary home). A “very” HNW donor (VHNW) has at least $5M in assets, while “ultra” HNW donors (UHNW) often have over $30M in assets. As of December 2023, there are estimated to be around 22.5 million HNW individuals in the world, of which around 2 million are VHNW and 220,000 are UHNW, with at least one-third of those individuals living in North America (Capgemini Research Institute 2024). A separate report finds that UHNW are responsible for almost 38% of all individual giving worldwide (Altrata, 2024).

Many of the most prominent HNW donors include billionaires who have signed the Giving Pledge (see below) and committed to give away at least half their wealth, meaning a minimum of $500,000, rising to $50 billion or more for the handful of centibillionaires who have signed the pledge. But gifts from ‘typical’ HNW donors are much lower. Research by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy finds that U.S. HNW donors gave an average of $14,396 in 2021 and supported an average of seven different organizations (Rooney et al. 2022).