Study: Elton, Coldplay, among Top 11 most charitable Brits

Elton John, Coldplay and One Direction were among the most generous of British musicians when it came to donating to charity last year.

A study by the Sunday Times of London found that the piano man made £26.8 million for charity. According to the newspaper’s annual Charitable Giving List, most of it went to his AIDS Foundations in the UK and the US, set up in the early ‘90s. Both have raised US$225 million for programs in 55 countries including helping people with HIV, including care, prevention and removing the stigma of having it. 

Those on the list were: 

1. Elton John - £26.8m (A$49.4m) 

2. author J.K. Rowling - £10.3m ($18.9m)

3. sportsman David Beckham - £5.0m ($9.2m) 

4. finance expert Martin Lewis - £2.5m ($4.6m) 

5. Coldplay - £1.7m ($3.1m)

6. Ringo Starr - £1.6m ($2.9m)

7. chef Jamie Oliver - £1.4m ($2.5m)

8. golfer Rory McIlroy - £1.0m ($1.8m)

9. golfer Colin Montgomerie - £0.9m (A$1.6m)

10. One Direction - £0.8m ($1.4m)

11. Brian May/ Roger Taylor - £0.8m ($1.4m)

Starr donated his money to his Lotus Foundation through an auction of Beatles memorabilia. Harry Potter creator Rowling directed her money to her two charities, The Lumos Foundation and the Volant Charitable Trust. Oliver continued to fund the chef apprenticeship scheme he launched in 2002. 

Last December, Taylor Swift was named the most charitable of US musicians for the fourth year in a row. Recipients of her donations included sick fans, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, New York public schools, victims of bushfires and flooding, AIDS sufferers, PETA and the Red Cross. Altogether she has 29 charities and 30 causes.

Among other generous US music celebrities were Miley Cyrus (her Happy Hippie Foundation helps homeless and LGBTQ youths) and Beyonce who has been a great financial supporter of the #BlackLivesMatter movement.