Chinese among influential donors

Twenty-nine Chinese families figured heavily in a list of the 100 most influential family donors worldwide, with most of them donating to the education and poverty alleviation sectors, according to a report by China Global Philanthropy Institute.

The Shenzhen-based institute is China's first educational institute that is solely dedicated to charity sector education, and it was co-founded by Bill Gates in 2015. The report, the first of its kind, used research data before the end of 2015, and the list has no rankings.

The list picked out families who have donated more than $100 million. Other selection factors include that the family members had a significant influence in their countries and they had publicly attended many charity events. The report said that in nearly a century, accumulated donations from the 100 most influential family donors totaled some $356 billion.