Words by Smiley Team
We often hear stories of celebrities, activists, and famous personalities donating large sums of money to help a charitable cause – Bill and Melinda Gates, for example, who gave 50 million dollars to assist the rollout of the vaccine programme in lower-income countries. Or Strive Masiyiwa, who funded causes in Africa, including £50m to fight cholera.
More recently, a consortium of philanthropic foundations revealed they were partially covering cuts to the UK government’s aid budget. They pledged to send £93.5 million to countries that would otherwise face a sudden slump in financial support.
A philanthropist, in general, applies to anyone who donates their time, money, or reputation to a charitable cause. Often though, we tend to think of these people as being famous – perhaps because we know they have the money to donate.
So what’s the psychology behind it – and why do some people become 'philanthropic'?
[Read More: 'I had to find one way to make a difference']
Dr Adam Abdelnoor, a chartered psychologist and associate fellow at the British Psychological Society, says altruism – where people have a selfless concern for the wellbeing of others – is a characteristic found globally throughout human behaviour.
And when it comes to billionaires, “how many yachts can you have?”, he jokes. “Sometimes you can’t even spend the money, even with children and family.” Adam says a lot of people’s philanthropic gestures come down to this realisation that they can be altruistic.
The question remains, perhaps, of what is driving them to want to make so much money. “Competition drives a lot of people to get more money," he says. "And in that environment, it will never seem enough. However, what kicks in for a lot of rich people is that they can be altruistic and still be extremely rich – and have far more money than they actually need.”
Adam says there’s a time for many when the altruistic aspect of human nature kicks in. It brings indirect benefit to that person, he says, because it benefits the group they are helping. “This human instinct appears when we have the resources to be altruistic,” he says. “When we can afford to, with no expectation of return.
[Read More: Global philanthropists cover UK aid cuts]
“People will do things because their emotions guide them – and the group they help will continue carrying that help, through their memory or narrative.”
Another way of looking at it, says Adam, is that people may be inclined to give back if they have their basic resources all met.
Think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – those who have reached self-actualisation have time to think about their purposes in life. People may think they’re lucky, and that they’ve done well – so now it’s their time to look out for the welfare of another group.
Interestingly, the people more likely to donate time and money are those who are more satisfied in their lives, says Adam, or happier to where they have got to.
And, he adds, it's important to remember “we worry about our legacy and our reputation, too”.
Read more about the top 10 philanthropists of the 20th century.
Image credit: Vitezslav Vylicil / Shutterstock
