Queen and Elton John amongst the UK's most charitable celebrities

 

Elton John has been revealed as the most charitable British musical celebrity of 2015 in new research by The Sunday Times, with One Direction and Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor also amongst the top givers.

The Sunday Times annual 'Giving List' estimates that £266 billion was given to charity in the UK in 2015, with the Sainsbury family - founders of the supermarket - topping the list overall, having given £220 million in 2015. That figure amounts to more than 40% of their total wealth.

Elton John's giving centred on his own Aids charities, to which he gave an estimated £26.8 million over the course of the year. The Giving List also reveals that Coldplay have given a total of £1.7 million, Ringo Starr gave £1.6 million to a charity he started, the Lotus Foundation, while One Direction and the two Queen members also gave figures the put them comfortably in the top givers in the UK.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling, Rory McIlroy, David Beckham and Jamie Oliver also made donations that saw them listed highly, with Rowling having given £10.3 million to various charities over the course of the year.