Philanthropy
BNP Paribas Wealth Management Hails Two “Outstanding” Philanthropists

The wealth management arm of French banking group BNP Paribas has named the winners of its ninth prize for individual philanthropy.
BNP Paribas Wealth Management has this year named Edward Scott, “Silicon Valley's most effective giver”, as winner of its Grand Prize and Yann Borgstedt, founder of the Womanity Foundation, winner of its Special Prize.
Scott was recognised for his effective policy-led and campaigning work in areas such as poverty relief, third-world debt reduction, the fight against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis as well as autism research and treatment. In 1995, Scott co-founded software company BEA Systems, which was sold to Oracle in 2008. He later became a primary funder behind StubHub, the online ticketing service later bought by eBay.
Meanwhile, Borgstedt's Womanity Foundation promotes female empowerment worldwide. The foundation seeks to improve education, for example by providing quality teaching to more than 33,000 girls in Afghanistan, and to give women a voice through various media projects throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It also supports social entrepreneurs working for women’s empowerment in Brazil and India, while working with organisations seeking to prevent violence against women. As the winner of the jury’s Special Prize, Borgstedt receives €50,000 ($55,655) to help further the project.
The winners were selected by an independent jury chaired by Amina Slaoui, president of AMH, a charity she founded which focuses on the social integration of vulnerable people and people with disabilities in Morocco. She is also on the board of Groupe SOS.
According to BNP Paribas' recent Individual Philanthropy Index, health is the top philanthropic area in the US, Europe and the Middle East, while the environment is the cause of choice in Asia.