2020’s Greatest Lesson In Philanthropic Leadership

According to recent estimates, the world’s wealthiest individuals are collectively worth more than 8 trillion dollars. That’s more than the GDP of Australia, Canada, Brazil and the UK combined. And while some billionaires are moving money out the door faster than they are making it, the reality is most are not.

As the board chair for the advocacy organization Global Citizen, this trend is something we set out to change earlier this year with the launch of the Give While You Live campaign, an initiative that aims to mobilize the world’s wealthiest philanthropists to spend out 5 percent of their net worth annually in support of important issues like protecting the planet or ending extreme poverty. Now, in the face of unprecedented global challenges, “Give While You Live” has taken on new meaning, and arguably, its goal is more important than ever before. 

As a nation, America is the most generous country by volume, and according to the CAF World Giving Index, it has held this position for over a decade. But who in America is giving and how much?  In a new partnership inspired by Give While You Live, Global Citizen worked together with Forbes to find answers to these questions and focused on refining the way philanthropy is measured within the Forbes 400, the annual index of the wealthiest 400 Americans. The objective was simple and data-driven: this year’s Forbes 400 philanthropy score would measure and verify the total grants that billionaires gave out to charitable causes in their lifetime, rather than money parked in their charitable foundations or donor advised funds (DAFs) due to their lack of disclosure and distribution requirements. Members were all contacted to verify research findings and were given a score from 1-5, from least generous to most, with their philanthropic spending ranging from less than 1 percent to more than 20 percent of their net worth. 

Startlingly, under the enhanced methodology, more than 245 billionaires received a ranking of 1 or 2 this year, meaning they have given away less than five percent of their total net worth in their lifetime. Of the Forbes 400 list members, only 10 individuals received the ranking of 5 this year, down from 29 who received a 5 ranking in 2018 and 2019. This shift was driven by two key changes to the methodology: only counting money actually put to work; and highlighting individuals who are giving away a higher percentage of their wealth, not just the dollar amount pledged. Those who are giving the most, at 20 percent or more of their wealth, include former hedge fund manager John Arnold, Intel cofounder Gordon Moore, and Oklahoma philanthropist Lynn Schusterman, with the title spot of “most generous American” going to Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett. 

It’s worth noting that The Giving Pledge, an effort born from conversations between fellow billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to accelerate the rate at which their peers were donating their wealth to worthy causes, also celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. As the first attempt to engage billionaire philanthropists to go further faster, the 2010 initiative itself was historic. Launching with an initial 40 inaugural signers, the Pledge quickly became a living public record of billionaires who have stepped forward and promised to give away more than half their fortune in their lifetime.

But now, a decade later, while the Pledge has confirmed an additional 170 signers, more than 90 percent — or nearly 2,000 of the world’s billionaires — have yet to sign on or adopt these fundamental philanthropic principles. Moreover, of this year’s Forbes 400 list members, 74 have signed the Giving Pledge yet only 10 appear to be making good progress toward their goal. Pledge signers who join Buffett, Arnold, Schusterman and Moore with a score of 5 include George Soros, Eli Broad, Julian Robertson Jr, Ted Turner, George Kaiser, and Amos Hostetter Jr. Collectively, they are putting their money to work to have impact now, when it’s so desperately needed. 

It is perhaps fitting that the biggest lesson in philanthropic leadership this year comes from Giving Pledge co-creator Warren Buffett himself.  Buffett, who is known for his punchy one-liners and relatable life hacks, has long been an advocate for increased transparency and accountability in philanthropy, once stating that, “If you're in the luckiest 1 percent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 percent.”

As a philanthropist myself, I agree that those of us fortunate to be blessed with wealth have an obligation to give back. But the chance to have a lasting, positive impact on people and the planet is also a great gift. After all the blessings that wealth brings, the United States and many other societies provide for individual choice in where to donate, allowing one to enjoy the satisfaction of seeing the impact that investment has, while also receiving a tax deduction on top! I believe this new methodology, which now underpins the way we measure philanthropy, is a significant step forward and it gets closer to the ultimate goal of what matters most — positively impacting the lives and futures of others and working to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems.

And at 90 years old, Buffett appears to be doing just that. He has given away an astounding $40 billion of his fortune to nonprofits, and still boasts a net worth of $73 billion, a fortune his own Giving Pledge notes he still plans to donate the majority of. This is the spirit of philanthropy I hope we see more of this year and what I hope these rankings help to inspire, encouraging us all to go further, faster and continuing to give big and give now — while we’re living.