Charity cleanup leads tycoons to donate more

China's richest person is also the highest donor to charity, according to report by China-based luxury magazine publisher Hurun. It reflects the growing interest of wealthy Chinese in charitable causes.

Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, became the country's richest person this year, according to Forbes. With a total wealth of $25 billion (by Hurun estimates), Ma has donated $2.4 billion to the charity foundation he and his colleague Cai Chongxin have set up.

It may be a coincidence that Ma has become China's richest person and top philanthropist at the same time, but there is little doubt that the country's richest people are becoming more altruistic. According to this year's Hurun philanthropy list, the average donation by the top 100 donors was 200 million yuan ($32.5 million), or 3.6 times that of last year, an almost unprecedented growth rate.