The current recession has been an equal-opportunity destroyer, with 73 percent of high-net-worth families saying they have been significantly hurt by the economic downturn. That could lead to cuts in charitable giving by the wealthy, Forbes reported Sept. 26.

A survey by the private-wealth research firm Prince & Associates found that 51 percent of rich families said they planned to give less in 2008 than they had in 2007; 16 percent said they planned to increase their giving.

The wealthiest 3 percent of Americans give about two-thirds of all household donations in the U.S., according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.