Beijing: China's billionaires have been so busy making money that they haven't had time to spend it - and universities are winning from a resulting boom in charity.

China's 2017 top 100 philanthropist list shows the trend for the country's wealthiest property developers, finance and technology tycoons to make big charitable donations is gathering pace.

Jack Ma at the launch of Alibaba's office in Melbourne in February. Credit:Stefan Postles

Almost half (44 per cent) of donations in 2017 were made to universities, up from a third (27 per cent) three years ago, according to the Hurun Philanthropy List 2017.

China's richest man, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, ranked 18th on the list, for his $26 million donation to the University of Newcastle in Australia.