Marcus Rashford has become the youngest person to top The Sunday Times Giving List.
The list measures philanthropy among celebrities, the wealthy and public figures in comparison to their net worth and the Manchester United player topped the list with over £20 million raised to help tackle child food poverty across the nation.
With a net worth of £16 million, the Giving List reports that Rashford has therefore raised the equivalent of 125 per cent of his wealth for charity.
As a result of his campaigning, the government offered around £400 million to support children with free meals.
The government had previously rejected calls to offer impoverished children funding to combat food poverty but Rashford continued to push forward the issue.
£170 million was given to councils until the end of March and then a further £210 million was used to expand the scheme into Easter, summer and Christmas 2021.
Marcus Rashford currently acts as an ambassador for Fareshare and chief executive Fareshare Lindsay Boswell said, “we are delighted he’s been honoured in this way. Marcus’ support for FareShare over the last year and his commitment to tackling child hunger has simply been incredible.
“His own experience of relying on free school meals to eat brings authenticity and compassion to his campaigning, and his status as a Premier League footballer means people and politicians sit up and take notice.”
The Sunday Times Giving List saw a total of £4 billion raised, marking a 36.1 per cent rise and a record-breaking number of money given to good causes.