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Today's super-rich are richer than ever. And they're giving their billions like never before. Philanthropists are investing record amounts of money to solve the world's most pressing problems. And unlike the big donors of the past, today's philanthropists want to see the results in their lifetime. But how altruistic is this new golden age of giving? Have these big donors become too powerful?
The way charities operate is increasingly coming under scrutiny, with donors large and small demanding more for their money. This is leading to innovative new approaches to doing good that are redefining the concept of altruism.
Hilton Douglas is a social worker at Urban Pathways, a nonprofit that is capitalizing on the recent explosion of charitable activity among wealthy Americans. New York has a record number of homeless people, and Hilton tries every day to help some of those worst affected. In 2018, spending by charitable foundations in America reached a record $75 billion. The charity Hilton works for is one of 250 supported by New York's largest and best-known foundation, Robin Hood.
Robin Hood contributes a small portion of Urban Pathways' overall income, but the foundation also provides strategic and operational support. Urban Pathways runs social assistance programs and an open center, providing a roof over the heads of around 850 men and women every night.
Every year, Robin Hood hosts America's largest and most glamorous fundraising gala, raising over 60% of annual funds in three hours. While the average annual donation to the foundation is $108, the gala has helped Robin Hood become known as the charity of choice for hedge fund managers and bankers. Over the past 30 years, around $3 billion has been raised and spent to fight poverty in New York.
Paul Tudor Jones is the founder of Robin Hood. The investor and hedge fund manager with a fortune of around $5 billion is convinced that private charity can outdo the state in solving social problems. Journalist Anand Giridharadas spent three years researching the motivations of wealthy American philanthropists. He came to the conclusion that some of their business practices cause the very social problems that their charity is trying to solve.
Since 2011, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has donated over $500 million to campaigns to replace coal with clean energy in the United States by 2030. But in his fight against climate change, Bloomberg has also taken on other billionaire philanthropists on the other side of the debate. For decades, oil barons Charles Koch and his late brother David donated billions of dollars to nonprofits to stoke skepticism about global warming. The Kochs' donations have had an enormous impact on strengthening the climate change denial lobby in America. But Michael Bloomberg's donations to his Beyond Coal campaign have proven to be an influential counterweight. So far, they have helped shut down 289 coal-fired power plants, more than half of the country's total.
America witnessed a spectacle of its most famous philanthropists battling it out over one of the world's most important political issues. This raises a fundamental question: How much political power should wealthy but unelected philanthropists have?
While powerful and wealthy philanthropists are giving away their money with increasing frequency, fewer people on average in developed countries are giving than they were two decades ago. This decline coincides with scandals that have rocked some of the world's best-known charities. It's no wonder that charities are now experimenting with innovative new approaches to persuade donors to part with their money.
Over the past decade, effective altruism has raised over $100 million in donations to the Against Malaria Foundation. The charity says this has funded the distribution of 50 million bed nets worldwide, protecting 90 million people and saving around 30,000 lives. However, effective altruism (EA) has its critics who say that giving is not science and that charity is more than just sober numbers. This scientific approach to charitable giving and charitable work is on the rise, taking on innovative new forms. It is being used by some of today's billionaire philanthropists. How this plays out, along with their growing power, will help redefine the impact of altruism. And how it is perceived.
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