...those spoiled brats of the rich a thing or two about philanthropy
http://www.xydo.com/toolbar/23518738-ubs_hires_chimp_expert_goodall_to_teach_wealthy_ch ildren_to_give_-_bloomberg
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UBS AG (UBSN), Switzerland’s largest bank, enlisted primatologist Jane Goodall’s services last week to give lessons in conservation and philanthropy to children of its private banking clients in Singapore.
Goodall, 77, who has studied chimpanzees since 1960 in Tanzania, gave a talk on getting involved with animal welfare, human rights and other causes to 18- to 25-year-olds on June 30 as part of UBS’s program for heirs of millionaire clients, the Zurich-based bank said.
UBS and rivals including Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) are wooing second-generation millionaires in Asia, where the wealthy outnumbered those in Europe for the first time in 2010. Philanthropy has been in the limelight this year as billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates toured Asia asking the rich to give away more of their money.
“Banks are expecting greater and greater generational wealth transfer, in particular in Asia,” Justin Ong, Asia- Pacific private banking leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Singapore, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “The targeting of these individuals is seen as an important part of the strategy.”
The wealth of high-net worth people in the Asia-Pacific region climbed 12.1 percent last year to $10.8 trillion, bolstered by economic growth in China and India, according to the 2011 World Wealth Report by Capgemini SA and Bank of America Corp. Singapore may displace Switzerland as the world’s top wealth-management center by 2013, PwC said last month.
‘Payback Time’
Goodall’s session was part of an effort to introduce philanthropy to a group of young adults with the potential to influence society through their prominent positions and wealth, said Daniel Harel, head of the South Asia ultra-high net worth category at UBS. UBS runs such programs in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan each year with participants mainly from Asia.
“We are not inheriting Mother Earth from our parents, but rather, we are stealing from our children,” Goodall told the 40 participants last week, according to Rachel Lin, a Singapore- based spokeswoman for UBS. “And it’s payback time.”
Programs for children of wealthy clients, which typically include sessions on wealth management, financial planning, leadership and personal development, are also conducted by Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc. (C) and Standard Chartered Plc. (STAN)
“Philanthropy habits in APAC are slowly mirroring Western trends,” Tee Fong Seng, head of Credit Suisse Private Banking’s ultra-high net worth business in Asia, said in an e-mail. “Geographical beneficiaries of Asian philanthropy are shifting and are now often global.”
Giving Pledge
Gates and Buffett started the Giving Pledge last year for billionaires who agree to commit half their fortunes to charity. Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg, filmmaker George Lucas and New York City Mayor and Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg have signed up as members.
Gates, 55, chairman of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp., is ranked second in Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires, with a net worth of $56 billion. Buffett, 80, chief executive officer of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is ranked third with a net worth of $50 billion.
“Until recently it was, and largely still is, seen as a private matter in the Asian context,” Credit Suisse’s Tee said. “The Asian philanthropic equivalent to the likes of Bill Gates, for example, is seldom heard of, but it does not mean they do not exist.”
Goodall, 77, who has studied chimpanzees since 1960 in Tanzania, gave a talk on getting involved with animal welfare, human rights and other causes to 18- to 25-year-olds on June 30 as part of UBS’s program for heirs of millionaire clients, the Zurich-based bank said.
UBS and rivals including Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) are wooing second-generation millionaires in Asia, where the wealthy outnumbered those in Europe for the first time in 2010. Philanthropy has been in the limelight this year as billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates toured Asia asking the rich to give away more of their money.
“Banks are expecting greater and greater generational wealth transfer, in particular in Asia,” Justin Ong, Asia- Pacific private banking leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Singapore, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “The targeting of these individuals is seen as an important part of the strategy.”
The wealth of high-net worth people in the Asia-Pacific region climbed 12.1 percent last year to $10.8 trillion, bolstered by economic growth in China and India, according to the 2011 World Wealth Report by Capgemini SA and Bank of America Corp. Singapore may displace Switzerland as the world’s top wealth-management center by 2013, PwC said last month.
‘Payback Time’
Goodall’s session was part of an effort to introduce philanthropy to a group of young adults with the potential to influence society through their prominent positions and wealth, said Daniel Harel, head of the South Asia ultra-high net worth category at UBS. UBS runs such programs in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan each year with participants mainly from Asia.
“We are not inheriting Mother Earth from our parents, but rather, we are stealing from our children,” Goodall told the 40 participants last week, according to Rachel Lin, a Singapore- based spokeswoman for UBS. “And it’s payback time.”
Programs for children of wealthy clients, which typically include sessions on wealth management, financial planning, leadership and personal development, are also conducted by Credit Suisse, Citigroup Inc. (C) and Standard Chartered Plc. (STAN)
“Philanthropy habits in APAC are slowly mirroring Western trends,” Tee Fong Seng, head of Credit Suisse Private Banking’s ultra-high net worth business in Asia, said in an e-mail. “Geographical beneficiaries of Asian philanthropy are shifting and are now often global.”
Giving Pledge
Gates and Buffett started the Giving Pledge last year for billionaires who agree to commit half their fortunes to charity. Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg, filmmaker George Lucas and New York City Mayor and Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg have signed up as members.
Gates, 55, chairman of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp., is ranked second in Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires, with a net worth of $56 billion. Buffett, 80, chief executive officer of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is ranked third with a net worth of $50 billion.
“Until recently it was, and largely still is, seen as a private matter in the Asian context,” Credit Suisse’s Tee said. “The Asian philanthropic equivalent to the likes of Bill Gates, for example, is seldom heard of, but it does not mean they do not exist.”
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