An extremely significant philanthropic event took place two weeks ago. Wouldn’t you love to go back to school just to take one course: Philanthropy 401, a one-semester multidisciplinary course that does nothing other than study the recently announced $20 billion gift by Bill Gates to his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? While it is hard not to be impressed by his call for the ultra-rich to give more and the types of needs he’s identified, this event raises important questions about the field of philanthropy. Here’s a rough outline of the syllabus, with the July 13, 2022 announcement of the gift in Gates’ blog being required reading for the course.
1. How Do You Become a Billionaire. You can’t give away a billion dollars if you haven’t got it, so let’s examine how it is accumulated. A Business School professor will discuss how drive in combination with greed, corruption, monopoly, tax avoidance and government assistance make it possible to join the three-comma club.
2. How Do You Spend Billions of Dollars, or What Does It Mean to Have Enough. Professors of Anthropology, Sociology and Psychology will evaluate Gates’ statement: “As I look to the future, my plan is to give all my wealth to the foundation other than what I spend on myself and my family.” Hmmm. How much does he spend on himself and his family (and who is included in “family”)? According to Business Insider, Gates is known for being relatively frugal. Relative to what? He has a $135 million primary residence, a $40 million private jet, art and collectibles probably worth in excess of $100 million, and other homes and real estate worth another $100 million? Does the $10 million he reportedly is giving to each of his three children (estimate seems low to me) heed Warren Buffett’s advice: “Leave the children enough so that they can do anything, but not enough that they can do nothing.” Philanthropy is relegated to what one does, in lieu of paying taxes, after making sure everyone has enough.
3. Getting Off the Treadmill. Our psychology professor will discuss the significance of Bill Gates giving up a digit, dropping under $100 billion. What will no longer being one of the three caballeros (richest men) do to his ego? Will he still command the respect of Presidents and media? Will he be able to adjust to being poor (or less rich)? Will it make him happier? What will it be like when he gives up a comma, when he no longer is even a billionaire? And finally, what does he mean when he says: “I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people.” I’m not suggesting he is totally out of touch, but he will always be one of the world’s richest people!
4. Is it a Gift? Professors from the Philanthropy Department (really, a philanthropy department?) and the School of Public Policy will examine whether a gift to one’s own private foundation is in fact a gift? What has changed in terms of control, power, and distribution to actual charities?
5. Making a Splash. The Schools of Communications and Journalism will weigh in on the publicity value of announcing a large (huge) gift. It would be easy to dismiss this gift as nothing more than a PR stunt to boost Gates’ brand and ego. it could also have been strategic to distract people from the following day’s launch of the Excessive Wealth Disorder Institute (EWDi), the new organization tackling the pervasive harm caused by excessive wealth. (More on EWDi below.) But does responsible journalism demand that a gift actually make its way to a charity before being publicly acclaimed? The Chronicle of Philanthropy named Gates the number one philanthropist in 2021 for his announced gift of $15 billion to his foundation. Actually, it wasn’t even a gift–it was a pledge. That gift morphed into the recently announced $20 billion gift. Does he get the number one spot again in 2022? And why does giving money to a private foundation count at all?
6. Giving it All Away. It’s time to bring back in the Business School, with a little help from a mathematics professor. Bill and Melinda Gates are 66 and 57 years old respectively, with life expectancies of 18 and 27 years. This is important because the foundation is committed to spending down twenty years after their deaths. Bill has just under $100 billion, his foundation has $70 billion. Making the reasonable assumptions that he and the foundation combined earn 7% after tax and inflation is 2%, he would have to give $9.5 billion per year in real dollars every year for next 47 years.
7. Stepping Up to the Plate. Professors of Philanthropy will examine the role of billionaires and their impact on philanthropy. They will address the “where to give,” “how to give” and “how much to give” questions. Noting the crises we are facing, including the fact that we now have 345 million acutely hungry people in the world, Gates urges fellow billionaires to ante up. But is he setting an example by giving the money to his foundation rather than to the nonprofits that are doing the work?
8. Can Plutocrats Solve the World’s Problems? The Plutocracy (formerly Philanthropy) Roundtable thinks so. They oppose wealth taxes that would enable the government to make public investments because it might reduce the influence of billionaires on what our priorities should be. A Political Science professor will examine the corrosive effect excessive wealth in the hands of a few has had on our democratic institutions. She will examine Gates’ statement: “Polarization is forcing us to look backwards and fight again for basic human rights, social justice and democratic norms.” But there isn’t much polarization on the issues–most Americans favor defending the right to vote, taxing the rich, regulating guns, protecting a woman’s right to choose, addressing climate change, and supporting early childhood care and education. Congress responds to plutocrats, not the public, so will the Gates Foundation support grassroots organizations to protect democracy or national efforts to tax excessive wealth for the public good?
9. Billionaires Rule. Does size matter? The professors will also look at how much and what ways billionaire philanthropy dominates the landscaper (billionaires represent 5% of all personal giving). And despite the many headlines in 2020 about giving to address racial justice, climate and democracy, reports on 2021 giving suggest a return to the old, elitist patterns of charitable giving. And finally, connecting philanthropy with plutocracy–influence without accountability–the question of why we have even allowed the accumulation of wealth, individually or in private foundations, will bring the semester’s work into sharp focus.
10. A Little Philosophy. As we move to the end of the semester, we might bring in philosophy or creative writing to express our feelings about money and philanthropy, as Lynne Twist (Soul of Money) has done:
Money is like water.
It is a carrier and a current that flows through life.
It is innocent. It’s how we use money that makes the difference. It can purify, cleanse, and make things grow, or it can carry toxins and make us sick.
Our health and the health of our planet depend on the movement of clean, clear, pure water. So does the health and well-being of our planet depend on the clear, clean, movement of money.
When water is held, hoarded, or stuck, it becomes stagnant and can become dangerous. The same is true for money, when money is hoarded or held, just like water, it can become toxic to those who are holding on to it. But when we allow money to flow, to move toward the highest good, it moves through the world like love, like energy, like water.
11. Pop Culture. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, a professor from the School of Cinema will discuss who should play Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in the television series, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Philanthropic.” Maybe Sean Penn and Robin Wright?
Class dismissed.