Survey: Wealth and Philanthropy
The Economist
The business of giving
Feb 23rd 2006
Philanthropy is flourishing as the number of super-rich people keeps growing. But the new donors are becoming much more businesslike about the way their money is used, says Matthew Bishop (interviewed here)
GIVING away money has never been so fashionable among the rich and famous. Bill Gates, today's pre-eminent philanthropist, has already handed over an unprecedented $31 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, mostly to tackle the health problems of the world's poor. Its generosity has earned the couple Time magazine's nomination as 2005's “people of the year”, along with Bono, an activist rock star.
The next generation of technology leaders are already embracing the same ethos. Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, and Jeff Skoll, the auction site's first chief executive, are each putting their billions to work to “make the world a better place”. And when the founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, took their company public, they announced that a slice of the search engine's equity and profits would go to Google.org, a philanthropic arm that they hope will one day “eclipse Google itself in overall world impact by ambitiously applying innovation and significant resources to the largest of the world's problems”.
The new enthusiasm for philanthropy is in large part a consequence of the rapid wealth-creation of recent years, and of its uneven distribution. The world now boasts 691 billionaires, 388 of them “self-made”, compared with 423 in 1996, according to Forbes magazine's “rich list” for 2005. Not all of these newly wealthy people are turning to philanthropy—and of those that do, many continue to give in unimaginative ways, say to support an institution such as their alma mater. But the extra wealth is creating huge new opportunities. “This is a historic moment in the evolution of philanthropy,” says Katherine Fulton, co-author of a recent report on the industry, “Looking out for the Future”. “If only 5-10% of the new billionaires are imaginative in their giving, they will transform philanthropy over the next 20 years.”
For now, it does look as though everyone, from Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor of New York, to hedge-fund tycoons and film stars, is opening their wallet for a good cause. In Manhattan these days, a table for ten at the best charitable fund-raising dinners can cost $1m. Celebrities are increasingly putting their own money into good works, as well as playing their time-honoured role of using their fame to raise money from others. The film star Angelina Jolie, for example, has backed up her public advocacy of the cause of refugees with substantial gifts to refugee organisations.
The media, which used to take little notice of charitable donations, now eagerly rank the super-rich by their munificence and berate those they regard as tight-fisted. The latest Business Week list, which ranks giving in the latest five years, is topped by Intel's co-founder, Gordon Moore, and his wife Betty, pushing Mr and Mrs Gates into second place. Among America's super-wealthy, it seems that only Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest man, still dedicates all his energies to making more money rather than giving away some of what he already has. But even he says it will all go to charity when he dies.
Nor is the fashion for giving limited to America, where philanthropists have long played a particularly prominent role. In Europe, too, entrepreneurs who have made a lot of money are starting to hand some of it to charitable causes. Examples include Britain's Dame Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, and Arpad Busson, a colourful French hedge-fund boss. India's new wealthy, such as Azim Premji and Nandan Nilekani, two Bangalore technology-firm bosses, are also becoming keen philanthropists; and even the new rich of China and Russia are catching the bug. Roman Abramovich, a Russian oiligarch who became famous for buying Chelsea Football Club, has given away many millions to improve living conditions in the Kamchatka region of Russia. And so the list goes on.
More:http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5517605
The business of giving
Feb 23rd 2006
Philanthropy is flourishing as the number of super-rich people keeps growing. But the new donors are becoming much more businesslike about the way their money is used, says Matthew Bishop (interviewed here)
GIVING away money has never been so fashionable among the rich and famous. Bill Gates, today's pre-eminent philanthropist, has already handed over an unprecedented $31 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, mostly to tackle the health problems of the world's poor. Its generosity has earned the couple Time magazine's nomination as 2005's “people of the year”, along with Bono, an activist rock star.
The next generation of technology leaders are already embracing the same ethos. Pierre Omidyar, the founder of eBay, and Jeff Skoll, the auction site's first chief executive, are each putting their billions to work to “make the world a better place”. And when the founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, took their company public, they announced that a slice of the search engine's equity and profits would go to Google.org, a philanthropic arm that they hope will one day “eclipse Google itself in overall world impact by ambitiously applying innovation and significant resources to the largest of the world's problems”.
The new enthusiasm for philanthropy is in large part a consequence of the rapid wealth-creation of recent years, and of its uneven distribution. The world now boasts 691 billionaires, 388 of them “self-made”, compared with 423 in 1996, according to Forbes magazine's “rich list” for 2005. Not all of these newly wealthy people are turning to philanthropy—and of those that do, many continue to give in unimaginative ways, say to support an institution such as their alma mater. But the extra wealth is creating huge new opportunities. “This is a historic moment in the evolution of philanthropy,” says Katherine Fulton, co-author of a recent report on the industry, “Looking out for the Future”. “If only 5-10% of the new billionaires are imaginative in their giving, they will transform philanthropy over the next 20 years.”
For now, it does look as though everyone, from Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor of New York, to hedge-fund tycoons and film stars, is opening their wallet for a good cause. In Manhattan these days, a table for ten at the best charitable fund-raising dinners can cost $1m. Celebrities are increasingly putting their own money into good works, as well as playing their time-honoured role of using their fame to raise money from others. The film star Angelina Jolie, for example, has backed up her public advocacy of the cause of refugees with substantial gifts to refugee organisations.
The media, which used to take little notice of charitable donations, now eagerly rank the super-rich by their munificence and berate those they regard as tight-fisted. The latest Business Week list, which ranks giving in the latest five years, is topped by Intel's co-founder, Gordon Moore, and his wife Betty, pushing Mr and Mrs Gates into second place. Among America's super-wealthy, it seems that only Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest man, still dedicates all his energies to making more money rather than giving away some of what he already has. But even he says it will all go to charity when he dies.
Nor is the fashion for giving limited to America, where philanthropists have long played a particularly prominent role. In Europe, too, entrepreneurs who have made a lot of money are starting to hand some of it to charitable causes. Examples include Britain's Dame Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop, and Arpad Busson, a colourful French hedge-fund boss. India's new wealthy, such as Azim Premji and Nandan Nilekani, two Bangalore technology-firm bosses, are also becoming keen philanthropists; and even the new rich of China and Russia are catching the bug. Roman Abramovich, a Russian oiligarch who became famous for buying Chelsea Football Club, has given away many millions to improve living conditions in the Kamchatka region of Russia. And so the list goes on.
More:http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5517605
posted by Unknown | 7:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home