The University of Manchester was founded on a $100,000 donationequivalent to about $15 million in today's moneyfrom a cotton merchant named John Owen, and the city of Manchester has long relied on the rich to fund its universities, hospitals, and other causes.
But now, as the BBC reports, the city's modern-day millionaires and billionaires are giving some of their money away.
Businessman Rory Brooks, for instance, recently donated $2 million to the Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester.
He plans to spend it on "form partnerships in the global south," "figuring out which ideas might have impact on the ground," and "showing how existing projects are transforming people's lives," he says.
"At some stage in your life, you have to give something back," he adds.
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Co-founder of Global Philanthropy Group, Trevor Neilson, talks about the disruption of the foggy world of philanthropy.