Sir Chris Hohn, Britain’s most generous philanthropist, has slammed government cuts to overseas aid as “cruel” after donating an additional $328 million (£243 million) of his personal wealth to help fill the gap.
The billionaire hedge fund manager, 58, made the contribution to his Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) in 2024, supplementing the $595 million invested by the charity from its $6.1 billion endowment. In total, CIFF committed $923 million to global projects last year.
Hohn said his increased giving was a direct response to reductions in international aid budgets. The UK cut its foreign aid commitment from 0.7 per cent of national income to 0.5 per cent in 2021 and plans to reduce it further to 0.3 per cent by 2027 in order to boost defence spending. In the US, President Trump dismantled the US Agency for International Development earlier this year.
“A lot of lives, maybe in the millions, have been lost because of these very cruel policies,” Hohn said. “The foundation is doing what we can to fill, in a small way, some of these enormous gaps.”
The fresh donation reinforces Hohn’s reputation as the UK’s most significant philanthropist. Through his hedge fund TCI and his CH Foundation UK, he has already channelled billions to charitable causes.
Accounts show that in 2024 TCI and CH Foundation UK donated more than $218 million to CIFF, with TCI committing a further $626 million for future years – around $440 million of which has already been delivered.
Thanks to TCI’s success, CIFF has also enjoyed huge investment gains. It booked a $637 million return last year after a $1 billion gain in 2023, giving it a cumulative performance of 633 per cent since 2009.
The son of a Jamaican-born car mechanic and a legal secretary, Hohn rose to prominence through the success of TCI, his $70 billion Mayfair-based hedge fund. Known for activist campaigns that have taken on giants such as Alphabet and the London Stock Exchange Group, TCI has consistently delivered bumper returns that underpin CIFF’s activities.
Hohn himself has amassed an £8.1 billion fortune, placing him 21st on this year’s Sunday Times Rich List. He was knighted in 2014 for services to philanthropy, the same year he finalised one of Britain’s largest divorce settlements, paying $530 million to his former wife Jamie Cooper – with whom he founded CIFF in 2002.
CIFF’s work spans climate change, child nutrition, and girls’ education. Hohn has also personally donated heavily to climate activism, including Extinction Rebellion.
Kate Hampton, chief executive of CIFF, said the latest donations were “a recognition of the urgency of the challenges we face”. She praised Hohn’s “generous” contribution as the foundation sought to step up its activities at a time of increasing global need.
For Hohn, the message is clear: as governments retreat from international development, philanthropists are being forced to step in. But he warns that the void left by shrinking aid budgets is far too large for private donations alone to fill.
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Britain’s top philanthropist Sir Chris Hohn condemns ‘cruel’ foreign aid cuts