World's rich stop taking and start giving

By John O'Donnell

GENEVA (Reuters) - After years of taking, the world's aging rich increasingly want to give back to the communities where they earned their fortunes, according to top bankers to the wealthy.

While the "moderately" rich -- defined as those with investable assets of up to 5 million euros ($6.3 million) -- still hold their purse strings tightly, the super-rich are becoming more generous, bankers say.

Following in the footsteps of investor Warren Buffet and Microsoft (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) co-founder Bill Gates, who have donated tens of billions to charity, more are turning to their bankers to ask how they can spend their fortunes to help others.

"Philanthropy is becoming huge in the industry," says Marianne Hay, head of Citigroup's (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) European wealth management arm, speaking at the Reuters Wealth Management summit.

"People want to put more back and leave a legacy. That can cover charity work to investing in healthcare or the environment," she told the Summit, held at Reuters' offices in Geneva.

Said Christopher Meares, head of HSBC's (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)(0005.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) wealthy clients business: "Charitable giving is mainstream in the U.S. already ... I think it will grow in continental Europe."

The number of high net worth individuals -- a term for those with at least $1 million of net assets excluding their home -- has climbed steadily to reach 8.7 million around the world last year, according to a report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini -- around 6 percent higher than in 2004.

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