The Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation was recently ranked among the Republic’s 10 largest private donors. - Photo: Saverin Foundation
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s richest man, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, and his wife, Elaine, view philanthropy as a responsibility that comes with privilege.
And Singapore holds a “special place” in their giving journey.
Elaine told The Straits Times, in one of the few interviews she has granted the media: “Many of our earliest partnerships in education, mental health and environmental access began here, shaped by the people and organisations who welcomed us and showed us what true collaboration can look like.”
Their Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation was registered as a charity in Singapore in 2023, and was recently ranked among the Republic’s 10 largest private donors.
Saverin, who co-founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg, was named Singapore’s richest man by Forbes in September 2025, with an estimated net worth of US$43 billion (S$54.7 billion) then.
In a written response on Jan 29, she said: “Eduardo and I started the foundation out of a quiet conviction: that when a family’s resources are guided by purpose, they can be a tremendous and meaningful force for good.
“From the beginning, we carry a profound sense of responsibility – not only to respond to the urgent needs of today, but also to strengthen the systems that future generations will rely upon.”
In the 2025 edition of Singapore’s Biggest Philanthropic Organisations report, the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation was ranked 10th on the list. It donated $11.5 million to various causes in 2024.
Elaine, the foundation’s co-founder and chairwoman, said its current priorities are mental health, education, wildlife conservation and regenerative futures, and healthcare innovation.
These focus areas reflect the couple’s personal experiences and challenges they have seen in their own communities and beyond.
She sees the foundation’s role as a catalyst for sparking innovation and possibilities.
“Our flexibility allows us to take thoughtful risks, explore new models and journey into uncharted pathways alongside those who dare to reimagine what’s possible,” she said.
She added that their starting point is always to listen first, and to support people and organisations already doing important work, rather than duplicating efforts.
“While we may co-develop new initiatives in the future, our focus is on strengthening existing organisations, so they can deepen their work and multiply their impact in the communities they know best,” she said.
One example she cited is the foundation’s S$3 million donation to fund a new scholarship for NUS Medicine’s Master of Clinical Mental Health and Psychotherapy programme, aimed at addressing the shortage of trained mental health professionals here.
Announced in November 2025, the scholarship comes with no service bond, though recipients are encouraged to make a two-year moral commitment to work in the mental health or related sectors.
Elaine also said that Singapore’s ecosystem enables the public, private and philanthropic sectors to work together to bring about “meaningful, long-term change”.
The Saverins are among a growing number of millionaires and billionaires who have set up philanthropic foundations here in recent years. Others include US hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio and Indonesian coal tycoon Low Tuck Kwong.
This comes amid Singapore’s push to position itself as a regional financial and philanthropic hub, supported by a strong wealth management sector and attractive tax incentives.
Born in Brazil, Saverin gave up his US citizenship “strictly based on his interest of living and working in Singapore”, he told a Brazilian news magazine in 2012. In that interview, he said he has been living in Singapore since 2009.
He is also the co-founder of B Capital, an investment firm headquartered in Singapore and San Francisco, and reportedly a Singapore permanent resident.
Elaine Andriejanssen, who was born in Indonesia and is of Chinese descent, attended Raffles Girls’ School in Singapore.
The couple reportedly met when he was studying at Harvard University while she attended Tufts University.
They wed in 2015 and have at least one son, according to Saverin’s past Facebook posts. They are both in their 40s.
According to Forbes, most of Elaine’s wealth comes from a stake in technology giant Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
In her response, Mrs Saverin declined to answer personal questions about their family and citizenship, saying: “We generally keep our personal and family details private.”
While declining to disclose how much the couple gave to start or run the foundation, Elaine said it is structured for long-term sustainability.
“We are committed to ensuring it has the resources to support multi-year, systems-focused initiatives,” she said.
She added that the foundation believes in investing in people, such as through scholarships, community programmes and professional development, as a key driver of social transformation.
In the immediate term, she said its work will focus on strengthening long-term partnerships with experts and institutions and expanding proven models such as training front-line mental health professionals and scaling innovative practices that better lives, among other areas.
Its work is not limited to Singapore.
In November 2025, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston announced it had received a US$20 million donation from the Elaine and Eduardo Saverin Foundation to advance research and care for metastatic breast cancer.
The foundation is also one of the founding partners of the Earthshot Prize, a global environmental award aimed at identifying and scaling solutions to repair and regenerate the planet.
Elaine described her husband as deeply curious about how systems work, whether in science, technology or nature.
She said: “He enjoys exploring ideas, understanding patterns and learning in ways that broaden perspectives.”
Elaine said she is drawn to the areas of education, community well-being and environmental resilience.
She added: “Family lies at the heart of my life and work, shaping the choices I make and the commitments I pursue. Our hope is that the efforts we support today will create profound opportunities and ripples far beyond us – reaching lives and communities we may never personally know.
“In the end, we see ourselves as stewards rather than protagonists – here to listen more than we speak, to learn as much as we lead, and to do our part to leave the world a little fairer, kinder and more hopeful than we found it.” - The Straits Times/ANN
