2020年9月,隨著貝努瓦·達吉維爾(瑪麗丈夫)旗下的數(shù)據(jù)云公司Snowflake成功上市,達吉維爾夫婦一夜之間成為億萬富翁。在經(jīng)歷了這一人生改變時刻后,作為曾經(jīng)的臨終關(guān)懷護士,瑪麗開始學(xué)習(xí)相關(guān)知識,了解如何盡快捐出這筆剛得到的財富。
她在硅谷家中接受美聯(lián)社(The Associated Press)采訪時說:“我們需要把過多的財富重新分配出去”。
雖然很多人認為捐出巨額財富并非易事,但達吉維爾并不這么想。她的建議是,別想那么多,先捐再說。
1889年,安德魯·卡內(nèi)基發(fā)表了一篇題為 《財富的福音》(The Gospel of Wealth)的文章,至少從那一年開始,美國的頂級富豪就開始不斷敦促彼此捐出更多財富??▋?nèi)基在文章中寫道,頂級富豪應(yīng)在有生之年捐出自己的財富,而之所以要這么做,部分是為了減輕不平等問題日益嚴重所帶來的痛苦。
一個由顧問、慈善項目和慈善捐贈工具組成的完整產(chǎn)業(yè)已經(jīng)冉冉升起,在推動富豪們進行捐贈方面發(fā)揮著積極作用,從某種程度上說,比爾及梅琳達·蓋茨基金會發(fā)起的“捐贈承諾”(Giving Pledge)對此功不可沒。2010年,沃倫·巴菲特、比爾·蓋茨和梅琳達·弗倫奇·蓋茨邀請其他億萬富翁共同承諾,在有生之年或通過遺囑捐出自己的一半財產(chǎn)。到目前為止,已有244位億萬富翁簽署了該承諾書。
那么,是什么阻礙了頂級富豪們更快捐出更多財富呢?
阻礙富豪捐贈的因素有哪些?
慈善顧問表示,有些屬于結(jié)構(gòu)性因素,比如尋找合適的工具和顧問,有些則與情感或心理因素有關(guān),比如要與家人協(xié)商或希望在同輩面前留下良好形象。
ideas42公司的首席創(chuàng)新官皮尤什·坦蒂亞說:“這就像一場巨大且完美的行為障礙風(fēng)暴?!弊罱錇樯w茨基金會資助完成的一份報告貢獻了自己的力量,該報告對那些讓富豪捐贈者打退堂鼓的因素進行了探討。
皮尤什指出,普通捐贈者進行捐贈可能是為了回應(yīng)朋友或家人的請求,而富豪捐贈者則不同,他們在選擇捐贈對象方面花的心思要比普通人多得多。
他說:“我們可能會想,‘他可是個億萬富翁,怎么會在乎這區(qū)區(qū)十萬塊呢?只要15分鐘他們就能把這筆錢賺回來’,但事實并非如此”。
他的建議是,富豪們可以把慈善事業(yè)看作投資組合,利用各種策略將不同風(fēng)險水平的慈善項目以一眾合理的方式組合在一起。這樣就可以不那么看重單筆捐贈的結(jié)果,而更看重累積的效果了。
瑪麗·達吉維爾說,通過與其他簽署了“捐贈承諾”的人士交流,她受益匪淺,特別是那個敦促她捐贈了一筆一般運營贈款(意味著組織可以自己選擇如何使用資金)的人。她相信,貼近社區(qū)的非營利組織最了解如何才能最大發(fā)揮這些資金的價值,并表示自己不擔(dān)心這些組織會濫用善款。
她說:“當(dāng)你身處這個位置上,有能力對財富進行重新分配時,要么你自己承擔(dān)風(fēng)險,要么讓別人來承擔(dān)。那你(在做慈善時)為什么不能承擔(dān)一些風(fēng)險呢?”
達吉維爾還認為,大家對捐贈者的愿望過于關(guān)注,對受助者的需求則關(guān)心不足。
麥肯齊·斯科特證明,捐贈也可以干凈利落
相關(guān)顧問發(fā)現(xiàn),捐贈者間私下開誠布公的談話也能推進他們在慈善事業(yè)上更進一步。賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)“高影響力慈善事業(yè)中心”(Center for High Impact Philanthropy)還開辦了一個學(xué)院,專門供富豪捐贈者、相關(guān)顧問和基金會負責(zé)人分批共同學(xué)習(xí)。
該中心的執(zhí)行主任凱特·羅斯奎塔說,像麥肯齊·斯科特(MacKenzie Scott,作家,亞馬遜創(chuàng)始人杰夫·貝索斯前妻,同時也是億萬富翁)這樣的捐贈者用實際行動表明,做慈善也能干凈利落,快速行動。
她說:“難道只有麥肯齊?斯科特能快速行動,其他所有的超高凈值捐贈者都趕不上她嗎?答案當(dāng)然是否定的?!?/p>
但她也說,由于與政府支出或商業(yè)部門的投入相比,慈善捐款顯得微不足道,捐贈者有時不知道如何才能讓這些錢真正發(fā)揮作用。
蓋茨基金會負責(zé)慈善伙伴關(guān)系的副主任卡拉?布拉德利說,從億萬富翁對慈善項目進行的嚴格審查可以看出,他們感覺自己肩負著沉重責(zé)任,必須盡可能用好自己的財富。
她說:“他們簽承諾書時是真心實意地想要捐出自己的巨額財富。然后,由于忙于工作生活,這件事就擱置了。做慈善不是件容易的事,必須得有無限熱情才能做好?!?/p>
推進捐贈事業(yè)發(fā)展的關(guān)鍵在于保持透明
耶魯大學(xué)管理學(xué)院(Yale School of Management)市場營銷教授德博拉·斯莫爾說,對億萬富翁進行實證研究也不是件容易的事。但她說,總的來說,當(dāng)下的社會更看重匿名捐贈,認為匿名捐贈更為高尚,因為這么做可以證明捐贈者慷慨解囊并非為了得到社會的認可。
她說:“如果每個人都能公開做慈善,那么就能形成一種社會風(fēng)氣,讓大家知道社會期望自己投身到慈善事業(yè)中來,這樣無論是對慈善項目還是慈善事業(yè)整體來說都有好處。”
地產(chǎn)開發(fā)商Related Group創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官豪爾赫·佩雷斯和他的妻子達琳早在2012年就加入了“捐贈承諾”。在接受美聯(lián)社采訪時,佩雷斯說,他經(jīng)常與圈中好友談?wù)撊绾胃炀璩龈嘭敻弧?/p>
他開玩笑說:“我覺得他們現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不想接我電話了?!?/p>
他還讓自己的成年子女參與到了慈善事業(yè)之中,后者參與的大部分慈善工作通過邁阿密基金會開展。他說,為提高對潛在受助者的評估速度,其子女決定借助基金會的專業(yè)力量,而非自行成立慈善機構(gòu)來推進相關(guān)工作。
早在加入“捐贈承諾”之前,佩雷斯夫婦已是邁阿密藝術(shù)界和獎學(xué)金的主要贊助者。2011年,這對夫婦將自己的藝術(shù)收藏捐給了當(dāng)?shù)氐乃囆g(shù)博物館,同時還捐贈了不少現(xiàn)金,總價值高達4000萬美元。
佩雷斯說,他之所以要捐款,一是因為他認為當(dāng)前非常不平等的社會不可持續(xù),二是以為他想留下一筆遺產(chǎn)。
他說:“我一直在宣揚這樣一種觀點,即捐贈的目的其實非常自私。其一是會讓你感覺很快樂。其二,尤其是在你將要生活的城市、州或國家進行捐贈,從長遠來看,會使社會變得更加公平、美好和進步,還可能帶來更多財富?!?/p>
美聯(lián)社在非洲的新聞報道工作得到了比爾及梅林達·蓋茨基金會的財務(wù)支持。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
2020年9月,隨著貝努瓦·達吉維爾(瑪麗丈夫)旗下的數(shù)據(jù)云公司Snowflake成功上市,達吉維爾夫婦一夜之間成為億萬富翁。在經(jīng)歷了這一人生改變時刻后,作為曾經(jīng)的臨終關(guān)懷護士,瑪麗開始學(xué)習(xí)相關(guān)知識,了解如何盡快捐出這筆剛得到的財富。
她在硅谷家中接受美聯(lián)社(The Associated Press)采訪時說:“我們需要把過多的財富重新分配出去”。
雖然很多人認為捐出巨額財富并非易事,但達吉維爾并不這么想。她的建議是,別想那么多,先捐再說。
1889年,安德魯·卡內(nèi)基發(fā)表了一篇題為 《財富的福音》(The Gospel of Wealth)的文章,至少從那一年開始,美國的頂級富豪就開始不斷敦促彼此捐出更多財富??▋?nèi)基在文章中寫道,頂級富豪應(yīng)在有生之年捐出自己的財富,而之所以要這么做,部分是為了減輕不平等問題日益嚴重所帶來的痛苦。
一個由顧問、慈善項目和慈善捐贈工具組成的完整產(chǎn)業(yè)已經(jīng)冉冉升起,在推動富豪們進行捐贈方面發(fā)揮著積極作用,從某種程度上說,比爾及梅琳達·蓋茨基金會發(fā)起的“捐贈承諾”(Giving Pledge)對此功不可沒。2010年,沃倫·巴菲特、比爾·蓋茨和梅琳達·弗倫奇·蓋茨邀請其他億萬富翁共同承諾,在有生之年或通過遺囑捐出自己的一半財產(chǎn)。到目前為止,已有244位億萬富翁簽署了該承諾書。
那么,是什么阻礙了頂級富豪們更快捐出更多財富呢?
阻礙富豪捐贈的因素有哪些?
慈善顧問表示,有些屬于結(jié)構(gòu)性因素,比如尋找合適的工具和顧問,有些則與情感或心理因素有關(guān),比如要與家人協(xié)商或希望在同輩面前留下良好形象。
ideas42公司的首席創(chuàng)新官皮尤什·坦蒂亞說:“這就像一場巨大且完美的行為障礙風(fēng)暴?!弊罱錇樯w茨基金會資助完成的一份報告貢獻了自己的力量,該報告對那些讓富豪捐贈者打退堂鼓的因素進行了探討。
皮尤什指出,普通捐贈者進行捐贈可能是為了回應(yīng)朋友或家人的請求,而富豪捐贈者則不同,他們在選擇捐贈對象方面花的心思要比普通人多得多。
他說:“我們可能會想,‘他可是個億萬富翁,怎么會在乎這區(qū)區(qū)十萬塊呢?只要15分鐘他們就能把這筆錢賺回來’,但事實并非如此”。
他的建議是,富豪們可以把慈善事業(yè)看作投資組合,利用各種策略將不同風(fēng)險水平的慈善項目以一眾合理的方式組合在一起。這樣就可以不那么看重單筆捐贈的結(jié)果,而更看重累積的效果了。
瑪麗·達吉維爾說,通過與其他簽署了“捐贈承諾”的人士交流,她受益匪淺,特別是那個敦促她捐贈了一筆一般運營贈款(意味著組織可以自己選擇如何使用資金)的人。她相信,貼近社區(qū)的非營利組織最了解如何才能最大發(fā)揮這些資金的價值,并表示自己不擔(dān)心這些組織會濫用善款。
她說:“當(dāng)你身處這個位置上,有能力對財富進行重新分配時,要么你自己承擔(dān)風(fēng)險,要么讓別人來承擔(dān)。那你(在做慈善時)為什么不能承擔(dān)一些風(fēng)險呢?”
達吉維爾還認為,大家對捐贈者的愿望過于關(guān)注,對受助者的需求則關(guān)心不足。
麥肯齊·斯科特證明,捐贈也可以干凈利落
相關(guān)顧問發(fā)現(xiàn),捐贈者間私下開誠布公的談話也能推進他們在慈善事業(yè)上更進一步。賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)“高影響力慈善事業(yè)中心”(Center for High Impact Philanthropy)還開辦了一個學(xué)院,專門供富豪捐贈者、相關(guān)顧問和基金會負責(zé)人分批共同學(xué)習(xí)。
該中心的執(zhí)行主任凱特·羅斯奎塔說,像麥肯齊·斯科特(MacKenzie Scott,作家,亞馬遜創(chuàng)始人杰夫·貝索斯前妻,同時也是億萬富翁)這樣的捐贈者用實際行動表明,做慈善也能干凈利落,快速行動。
她說:“難道只有麥肯齊?斯科特能快速行動,其他所有的超高凈值捐贈者都趕不上她嗎?答案當(dāng)然是否定的?!?/p>
但她也說,由于與政府支出或商業(yè)部門的投入相比,慈善捐款顯得微不足道,捐贈者有時不知道如何才能讓這些錢真正發(fā)揮作用。
蓋茨基金會負責(zé)慈善伙伴關(guān)系的副主任卡拉?布拉德利說,從億萬富翁對慈善項目進行的嚴格審查可以看出,他們感覺自己肩負著沉重責(zé)任,必須盡可能用好自己的財富。
她說:“他們簽承諾書時是真心實意地想要捐出自己的巨額財富。然后,由于忙于工作生活,這件事就擱置了。做慈善不是件容易的事,必須得有無限熱情才能做好。”
推進捐贈事業(yè)發(fā)展的關(guān)鍵在于保持透明
耶魯大學(xué)管理學(xué)院(Yale School of Management)市場營銷教授德博拉·斯莫爾說,對億萬富翁進行實證研究也不是件容易的事。但她說,總的來說,當(dāng)下的社會更看重匿名捐贈,認為匿名捐贈更為高尚,因為這么做可以證明捐贈者慷慨解囊并非為了得到社會的認可。
她說:“如果每個人都能公開做慈善,那么就能形成一種社會風(fēng)氣,讓大家知道社會期望自己投身到慈善事業(yè)中來,這樣無論是對慈善項目還是慈善事業(yè)整體來說都有好處?!?
地產(chǎn)開發(fā)商Related Group創(chuàng)始人兼首席執(zhí)行官豪爾赫·佩雷斯和他的妻子達琳早在2012年就加入了“捐贈承諾”。在接受美聯(lián)社采訪時,佩雷斯說,他經(jīng)常與圈中好友談?wù)撊绾胃炀璩龈嘭敻弧?/p>
他開玩笑說:“我覺得他們現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)不想接我電話了?!?/p>
他還讓自己的成年子女參與到了慈善事業(yè)之中,后者參與的大部分慈善工作通過邁阿密基金會開展。他說,為提高對潛在受助者的評估速度,其子女決定借助基金會的專業(yè)力量,而非自行成立慈善機構(gòu)來推進相關(guān)工作。
早在加入“捐贈承諾”之前,佩雷斯夫婦已是邁阿密藝術(shù)界和獎學(xué)金的主要贊助者。2011年,這對夫婦將自己的藝術(shù)收藏捐給了當(dāng)?shù)氐乃囆g(shù)博物館,同時還捐贈了不少現(xiàn)金,總價值高達4000萬美元。
佩雷斯說,他之所以要捐款,一是因為他認為當(dāng)前非常不平等的社會不可持續(xù),二是以為他想留下一筆遺產(chǎn)。
他說:“我一直在宣揚這樣一種觀點,即捐贈的目的其實非常自私。其一是會讓你感覺很快樂。其二,尤其是在你將要生活的城市、州或國家進行捐贈,從長遠來看,會使社會變得更加公平、美好和進步,還可能帶來更多財富?!?/p>
美聯(lián)社在非洲的新聞報道工作得到了比爾及梅林達·蓋茨基金會的財務(wù)支持。(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:馮豐
審校:夏林
Marie Dageville and her husband Benoit Dageville became billionaires overnight when his data cloud company, Snowflake, went public in September 2020. After that life changing moment, Marie, a former hospice nurse, then set out to learn how to urgently give away that new fortune.
“We need to redistribute what we have that is too much,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press from her home in Silicon Valley.
While many say giving away a lot of money is hard, that is not Dageville’s perspective. Her advice is to just get started.
America’s wealthiest people have urged each other to give away more of their money since at least 1889, the year Andrew Carnegie published an essay entitled, “The Gospel of Wealth.” He argued that the richest should give away their fortunes within their lifetimes, in part to lessen the sting of growing inequality.
A whole industry of advisers, courses and charitable giving vehicles has grown to help facilitate donations from the wealthy, to some extent prompted by the Giving Pledge, an initiative housed at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2010, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates invited other billionaires to promise to give away half of their fortunes in their lifetimes or in their wills. So far, 244 have signed on.
So, what stands in the way of the wealthiest people giving more and giving faster?
What stops billionaires from giving?
Philanthropy advisers say some answers are structural, like finding the right vehicles and advisers, and some have to do with emotional and psychological factors, like negotiating with family members or wanting to look good in the eyes of their peers.
“It’s like a massive, perfect storm of behavioral barriers,” said Piyush Tantia, chief innovation officer at ideas42, who recently contributed to a report funded by the Gates Foundation looking at what holds the wealthiest donors back.
He points out that unlike everyday donors, who may give in response to an ask from a friend or family member, the wealthiest donors end up deliberating much more about where to give.
“We might think, ‘It’s a billionaire. Who cares about a hundred grand? They make that back in the next 15 minutes’,” he said. “But it doesn’t feel like that.”
His advice is to think about philanthropy as a portfolio, with different risk levels and strategies ideally working in concert. That way it’s less about the outcome of any single grant and more about the cumulative impact.
Marie Dageville said she benefited from speaking with other people who had signed the Giving Pledge, especially one person who urged her to make general operating grants, meaning the organization can choose how to spend the funds themselves. She trusts nonprofits close to the communities they serve to know best how to spend the money and said she is not held back by a worry that they will misuse it.
“If you are in the position where you are at now — able to redistribute this fortune — either you took risks or someone took risks on you,” she said, adding. “So why can’t you take some risk (in your philanthropy)?”
Dageville also thinks there is too much focus on the wants of the donors, rather than the needs of the recipients.
MacKenzie Scott is proof funders can move fast
Private and open conversations between donors also help them move forward, advisers have found. The Center for High Impact Philanthropy at University of Pennsylvania runs an academy that convenes very wealthy donors, their advisers and the heads of foundations to learn together in cohorts.
Kat Rosqueta, the center’s executive director, said donors like MacKenzie Scott, the author and now billionaire ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, show it’s possible to move quickly.
“Do all the ultra high net worth funders have to go slower than MacKenzie Scott? No,” she said.
But she said, sometimes donors struggle with seeing how to make a difference, given that philanthropic funding is tiny compared to government spending or the business sector.
Cara Bradley, deputy director of philanthropic partnerships at the Gates Foundation, said the scrutiny of billionaire philanthropy also means they feel a huge responsibility to use their funds as best as possible.
“They’ve signed a pledge genuinely committed to trying to give away this tremendous amount of wealth. And then, people can get stuck because life gets busy. This is hard. Philanthropy is a real endeavor,” she said.
Transparency is key to encouraging giving
It is also not easy to conduct empirical research on billionaires, said Deborah Small, a marketing professor at Yale School of Management. But she said, in general, current social norms value anonymity in giving, which is seen as being more virtuous because the donor isn’t recognized for their generosity.
“It would be better for causes, and for philanthropy as a whole, if everybody was open about it because that would create the social norm that this is an expectation in society,” she said.
Jorge Pérez, founder and CEO of the real estate developer Related Group, along with his wife, Darlene, was early to join the Giving Pledge in 2012. In an interview with The Associated Press, Pérez said he frequently speaks with his peers about giving more and faster.
“I think people have stopped taking my calls,” he joked.
He also has engaged his adult children in their philanthropy, much of which they conduct through The Miami Foundation. He said they decided to draw on the expertise of the foundation, rather than starting their own organizations, to speed along the evaluation of potential grantees.
Even before the Pérezes joined the Giving Pledge, they were major supporters of the arts and of scholarships in Miami, where they are based. In 2011, the couple donated their art collection along with cash, together worth $40 million, to the art museum, which was renamed the Pérez Art Museum Miami after the gift.
Pérez said he gives because he thinks very unequal societies are not sustainable and because he wants to leave behind a legacy.
“I keep on selling the idea that you’re giving because of very selfish reasons,” he said. “One is it makes you feel good. But two, particularly in the city or the state or the country that you’re going to live in, in the long run, this is going to make a huge difference in making our society fairer, better and more progressive and probably lead to greater economic wealth.”
The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.