Marcus Rashford: Man Utd forward becomes youngest person to top Sunday Times Giving List

Manchester United and England forward Marcus Rashford has become the youngest person to top The Sunday Times Giving List - the annual measure of philanthropy among the super-rich.

The ranking sets the sums donated to or raised for charity against the Rich List wealth valuation for those individuals or families.

Rashford, who also appears in the Young Rich List for the first time with a fortune put at £16m, successfully lobbied the UK Government into a U-turn over its free school meals policy during the coronavirus lockdown, ensuring children in need would receive free meals throughout the summer.

Image: England international Rashford launched a high-profile campaign to get children eligible for free school meals fed regularly when schools were shut during lockdown

The 23-year-old was awarded an MBE in October 2020 for services to vulnerable children during the pandemic and has since formed a child food poverty task force, linking up with some of the nation's biggest supermarkets and food brands.

Acting as an ambassador for FareShare, Rashford's efforts triggered an estimated £20m of additional donations to the food poverty charity. This gives him a Giving Index of 125 - the £20m representing 125 per cent of his net worth of £16m.

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare chief executive, said: "We are delighted he's been honoured in this way. Marcus' support for FareShare over the last year and his commitment to tackling child hunger has simply been incredible.

"His own experience of relying on free school meals to eat brings authenticity and compassion to his campaigning, and his status as a Premier League footballer means people and politicians sit up and take notice."

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson also features in this year's Giving List, ranked sixth, to mark his role in raising £4m for the NHS from fellow Premier League footballers through the #PlayersTogether coronavirus appeal.

In January, Henderson was named the first NHS Charities Together 'Champion'. The role means he will act as an ambassador for the organisation which supports staff, volunteers and patients within the NHS and raises funds for more than 240 related charities.

Image: Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is sixth on the list for his role in the #PlayersTogether coronavirus appeal

For the first time, donations tracked by The Sunday Times exceeded £4 billion, representing a 36.1 per cent rise on last year.

Donations have been more widely based than ever, with 182 Rich Listers among the £1 million-plus donors in the past year, beating the previous record of 177 set in 2016.

The Sunday Times Giving List recorded nine donations of more than £100m and 71 gave at least £10m, up from 42 recorded in 2020.

Covid-19 has fuelled the giving spree and The Sunday Times Giving List have tracked £520m of donations to this end alone, covering PPE supplies, the alleviation of food poverty, community support and the vital area of helping to plug the cumulative £10 billion funding gap in the finances of charities up and down the country.

The information in this story was sourced from The Sunday Times Rich List. For more information visit thesundaytimes.co.uk/richlist.