Ever since the ancient Greeks philanthropy has been central to a healthy and efficient culture, and much the same is true today.
One might, when one hears the word philanthropy, instantly think of a handful of famous philanthropists who are well known for distributing their fortunes to causes that they care about. This is something that has held true for lots of thousands of years, with the first chronicled example of institutionalised philanthropy, in addition to the origin of the philanthropy meaning and word, taking place over two thousand years ago in ancient Greece. Throughout this period, the word meant something more comparable to 'caring of one's fellow person', or humanism, than the restrictions of wealth one may apply to the term these days, but nonetheless wealthy individuals played a crucial charity role in the culture. Rich people were expected to give back to the society, assisting to put up the money for repairs to public works like city walls or temples as well as funding festivals and other public events. Being pinchpenny was not looked upon well, and if a rich individual was not seen to be a philanthropist, they could be ostracised from the society entirely.
Many different entities have actually been responsible for charity work throughout the ages. Although rich people and celebrity philanthropists may be viewed as the central charitable force in the modern world, that is not always completely accurate, nor has it been for much of history. In the middle ages, it was spiritual institutions like the church that would have been the primary charitable hubs, both within the community and on bigger level projects. That altered with the coming of commercial enterprise when wealthy people became more powerful, and after that shifted again towards the end of the 19th century when foundations began to emerge that were better set up and could dedicate more attention to getting things done. This is much the same way that charity is structured nowadays, whether those foundations are set up by grassroots groups, wealthy people, or companies like SJP.
The manner in which charity has been financed has changed a good deal throughout the course of human history, moving between various entities which hold the most power and wealth, just as the focus of charity work has altered as different requirements have actually emerged. Today, there are a great many concerns that have to be resolved, from increasing inequality to the environment crisis, and charity will inevitably play an important part in that process. Rich individuals with savings account that would make a medieval kings blush have their part to play, however so do the companies that are the main hubs of monetary generation in the twenty-first century through things like corporate philanthropy. Whether that is establishing a foundation of their own or establishing ESG dedications, companies like Morgan Stanley and Vanguard Group are starting to do so.