Holiday Giving: How do the Super Rich Give Away Their Money?

The holiday season always sees a spike in giving, not just to family and friends but to causes and charities as well. Some groups receive over half of their annual revenue during the final few months of the year. So what about those who have the most to give? For the wealthy, giving it away can be a year round commitment. And that's in terms of personal and accounting purposes as well. We took a look at how the super rich give away their wealth. The latest research by UBS says that more than 9 out of 10 millionaires either donate money or volunteer their time. Slightly more than half do both. Across generations, millionaires tend to give away about 7% of their annual income. But as the super rich are diversifying in terms of how they make money, they're also changing how they give it. Research suggests that the baby boomer generation gives mainly from a sense of duty. And generally to traditional institutions or organizations. The younger crowd are increasingly passionate and specific about the causes they support. They also seem to gravitate towards more practical and personal causes. Spontaneous check book philanthropy is still big. But only about 1 in 5 wealthy donors think they're actually making a difference. The majority of gifts are still mostly unplanned. Only about 10% of the millionaires surveyed integrate their gift into their financial planning. So are the rich giving it away effectively? The majority of them don't seem to think so. But good examples do set trends. Charitable giving is becoming less anonymous. Growing numbers of millennial millionaires are flying the flag as charity crusaders. The tech generation are using their philanthropic projects to build their brand and the baby boomers are getting more spontaneous.