A HEDGE fund manager has emerged as one of Britain’s biggest philanthropists – giving £463m to children’s charities in just one year.

Christopher Cooper-Hohn, the son of a mechanic, is viewed as one of the City’s most aggressive operators. He has, however, amassed a fortune for charitable projects in Africa and the rest of the developing world.

His foundation is run by his American wife Jamie and is funded by profits and capital from his hedge fund, the Children’s Investment Fund. The Cooper-Hohns initially planned to give a minimum of £5m a year to the foundation, but donations soared with the success of the hedge fund.

The Cooper-Hohn donations are revealed in The Giving List, published next week as part of The Sunday Times Rich List. Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative party deputy chairman, donated or pledged the largest sum, after announcing he intended to leave about £880m to charity when he dies.

Cooper-Hohn is the son of an immigrant and studied at Southampton University and Harvard Business School. He met his wife while studying in America and they now live in north London.

In an interview last year, Jamie Cooper-Hohn said: “One of the things that attracted Chris and me was the shared sense of something that is larger than ourselves and the thrill that we can have a positive impact.”

The couple keep a low profile, but are among a new breed of philanthropists who are committed to giving away a huge chunk of their fortunes. Tom Hunter, the Scottish businessman, has said he hopes to give £1 billion to charity, although his businesses have been hit by the credit crunch.

It emerged this weekend that Lord Sainsbury has become the first Briton to give away more than £1 billion. He is inspired by Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-born American industrialist, who became one of the world’s richest men. He argued that the rich had a moral duty to give away their fortunes.

By the time of his death in 1919, Carnegie had given away $350m. In today’s money, he donated the equivalent of $40 billion. This exceeds even the $29 billion that Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, has put into his charitable foundation.

Like Carnegie, Sainsbury’s name will live on through the legacy of his charitable works. His funds have been used particularly to help scientific research in some of the world’s leading universities.

The Sainsbury family have several charitable foundations. In 2008, Lord Sainsbury and other family members made total donations worth more than £405m.

The surge in funds from the rich is a welcome fillip for charities worried about dwindling funds during the economic downturn.

“It’s important that charities do not talk themselves into recession,” said Dr John Low, chief executive of the Charities Aid Foundation.

“Income in some areas is sagging but mechanisms such as trust funds will keep the flow of cash going.”

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