Summary
This document provides some news and information about charitable giving strategies based on the work of some current prominent philanthropists. This page will be updated as new information becomes available.
This report is not intended to guide individual giving, but instead looks at big picture approaches philanthropy as a context for further study.
Because there tend not to be repeated interviews and stories about the same individuals or families, the reports below may be many years old but the trajectory and plans described continue today. Also, because this is the first report on this topic, this page serves as the initial background for future reports.
News
Below are news reports in chronological order with the most recent at the top. The source and date are provided in the title header for each entry.
60 Minutes (13 Oct 2024)
“How Steve and Connie Ballmer are giving away billions” — In a 60 Minutes interview, former Microsoft CEO and LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and his wife Connie share their vision for philanthropy and address whether they’d ever be in the market for another sports team. [Source]
Vox (3 Mar 2023)
“How America’s richest donate their money” — Every year, publications like Forbes release lists detailing the generosity of society’s richest philanthropists. But the raw numbers of their donations don’t tell the whole story of how ultra-wealthy charitable giving tends to work. We took that data and put it on a big chart that highlights exactly how much of each billionaire’s personal wealth is going toward charitable giving. This video outlines how wealth inequality creates a distorted view of the generosity of America’s billionaires. We examine the causes their money goes to support, like education and public health. And we break down the actual methods they use to move massive amounts of donated money around, like foundations and secretive donor-advised funds. Measuring wealth and philanthropic giving is difficult and subjective. We relied on Forbes’s specific methodology for our chart, but lists like the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “The Philanthropy 50” use their own methods. [View] Correction: In a previous version of this video, the equation at 1:05 was incorrectly flipped. We’ve updated the animation. Here is the original Forbes list we mention in the video. [View Forbes Article] [Video on YouTube]
CNBC (25 Nov 2022)
“Warren Buffett donates $750 million to his family charities” — Billionaire investor Warren Buffett donated more than $750 million to his family charities this week. CNBC’s Becky Quick breaks down the details. [Source]
Forbes (9 Jun 2021)
“How Warren Buffett Donates His Billions” — The legendary investor has been on a quest to give away more than 99% of his wealth and he’s already donated more than $42 billion. [Source]
The Economist (28 Jan 2020)
“Charity: how effective is giving?” — Today’s super-rich are putting record sums into tackling the world’s most pressing problems. But how altruistic is this golden age of charitable giving? [Source]
CBS News (28 May 2019)
“MacKenzie Bezos will give half her fortune to charity” — The ex-wife of Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos says she’s signing the Giving Pledge — a commitment to give away half of her $37 billion fortune. [Source]
Jim Hodge (1 Sep 2016)
“Philanthropy: A Whole Lot of Shift Needs to Happen” — Philanthropy at its core is not about money but about meaning, compassion and generosity. Americans give a $1 billion a day to charitable institutions. The focus, however, is on money instead of impactful giving. When we commoditize philanthropy we make it less joyful and fulfilling. This talk focuses on a return to big important and compelling narratives for philanthropy where conversations are less about needs and scarcity more about possibilities, abundance and co-created better futures. Jim Hodge has been engaged in philanthropy for 38 years. He is the Associate Vice Chancellor of Advancement at the University of Colorado School of Medicine after completing a 30-year career at Mayo Clinic as Vice Chair of Development. He led all strategy for gifts of significance of $5M or more. He is known for practicing and teaching benefactor-centric, relationship-based philanthropy. The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy labeled him a “reflective practitioner.” [Source]
Bill and Melinda Gates (2 Apr 2014)
“Why giving away our wealth has been the most satisfying thing we’ve done…” — In 1993, Bill and Melinda Gates—then engaged—took a walk on a beach in Zanzibar, and made a bold decision on how they would make sure that their wealth from Microsoft went back into society. In a conversation with Chris Anderson, the couple talks about their work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as about their marriage, their children, their failures and the satisfaction of giving most of their wealth away. [Source]
CBS (15 Nov 2013)
“Charitable billionaires asked to give half their fortunes to charity” — Bill Gates, his wife, Melinda, and Warren Buffett – the founders of “The Giving Pledge,” say the super-wealthy need to make a big commitment. Charlie Rose previews his upcoming “60 Minutes” report on billionaires who want to make a difference. [Source]
Dan Pallotta via TED (11 Mar 2013)
“The way we think about charity is dead wrong” — Activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta calls out the double standard that drives our broken relationship to charities. Too many nonprofits, he says, are rewarded for how little they spend — not for what they get done. Instead of equating frugality with morality, he asks us to start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments (even if that comes with big expenses). In this bold talk, he says: Let’s change the way we think about changing the world. [Source]
CBS News (24 Apr 2011)
“How Eli Broad gives his billions away” — Eli Broad sets the standard for philanthropy. He’s given away over $2 billion and plans on leaving even more before he dies. But along with his name, his advice and oftentimes his control are usually part of the deal. Morley Safer reports. [Source]