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| The changing art of giving | The changing art of giving |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A POINT OF VIEW By David Cannadine | A POINT OF VIEW By David Cannadine |
| Philanthropy has a long history, but a new generation are changing perceptions of the art of giving. | Philanthropy has a long history, but a new generation are changing perceptions of the art of giving. |
| I've recently returned from a conference held at Waddesdon, the great Rothschild palazzo in the heart of the Buckinghamshire countryside, which was devoted to discussing the history of philanthropy. | I've recently returned from a conference held at Waddesdon, the great Rothschild palazzo in the heart of the Buckinghamshire countryside, which was devoted to discussing the history of philanthropy. |
| It's a fascinating but surprisingly under-researched subject, and it seemed appropriate to be engaging with it as we emerge from the Christmas season. After all, one of the high points in the nativity narrative is the arrival in Bethlehem of the three kings who have journeyed from the east, bearing their special gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the infant Jesus. | It's a fascinating but surprisingly under-researched subject, and it seemed appropriate to be engaging with it as we emerge from the Christmas season. After all, one of the high points in the nativity narrative is the arrival in Bethlehem of the three kings who have journeyed from the east, bearing their special gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the infant Jesus. |
| The story of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol revolves around the yuletide transformation in the character and conduct of Ebeneezer Scrooge, from selfishness to generosity, and thus from misanthropy to philanthropy. | The story of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol revolves around the yuletide transformation in the character and conduct of Ebeneezer Scrooge, from selfishness to generosity, and thus from misanthropy to philanthropy. |
| As rich people age, they become increasingly aware that they can't take their money with them Hear Radio 4's A Point of View | As rich people age, they become increasingly aware that they can't take their money with them Hear Radio 4's A Point of View |
| And for many of us, Christmas is customarily a time, not only for giving presents to our family, friends and loved ones, but also for making annual donations to our favourite charities. | And for many of us, Christmas is customarily a time, not only for giving presents to our family, friends and loved ones, but also for making annual donations to our favourite charities. |
| As the story of the three kings reminds us, the practice of giving money away has been around for as long as there have been people possessed of more wealth than they required for their own immediate needs. | As the story of the three kings reminds us, the practice of giving money away has been around for as long as there have been people possessed of more wealth than they required for their own immediate needs. |
| Consider, for example, the career of Sir Thomas Bodley, an Elizabethan scholar, linguist and diplomat who, like many men before and since, became rich by marrying a wealthy wife. From the late 16th Century, and during the last years of his life, Bodley devoted his time and his fortune to the revival and revitalisation of the university library at Oxford, which was then in a sadly decayed state, bordering on ruin. | Consider, for example, the career of Sir Thomas Bodley, an Elizabethan scholar, linguist and diplomat who, like many men before and since, became rich by marrying a wealthy wife. From the late 16th Century, and during the last years of his life, Bodley devoted his time and his fortune to the revival and revitalisation of the university library at Oxford, which was then in a sadly decayed state, bordering on ruin. |
| Middle-class givers | Middle-class givers |
| He restored and refurbished the building at his own expense, he persuaded friends and acquaintances to give books and money, and he himself left the place a substantial sum in his will. Bodley thus set back on its feet one of the great treasure houses of learning in the western world, and ever since, his library has fittingly borne his name. | He restored and refurbished the building at his own expense, he persuaded friends and acquaintances to give books and money, and he himself left the place a substantial sum in his will. Bodley thus set back on its feet one of the great treasure houses of learning in the western world, and ever since, his library has fittingly borne his name. |
| Thomas Bodley was eventually knighted for his labours and for his largesse by King James I in 1604, soon after his library was opened, but he was not himself a high-born figure from a titled background. And in the centuries that followed, most of our nation's greatest philanthropists have been self-made or middle-class, rather than emerging from upper class or aristocratic families. | Thomas Bodley was eventually knighted for his labours and for his largesse by King James I in 1604, soon after his library was opened, but he was not himself a high-born figure from a titled background. And in the centuries that followed, most of our nation's greatest philanthropists have been self-made or middle-class, rather than emerging from upper class or aristocratic families. |
| Sir Henry Tate, who founded and funded the art gallery which stands on the Thames at Milbank and which is named after him, made a fortune from refining, processing and selling sugar. Lord Leverhulme accumulated his money by making soap, Lord Nuffield became rich by manufacturing cars, and Sir Henry Wellcome amassed his fortune from pharmaceuticals. | Sir Henry Tate, who founded and funded the art gallery which stands on the Thames at Milbank and which is named after him, made a fortune from refining, processing and selling sugar. Lord Leverhulme accumulated his money by making soap, Lord Nuffield became rich by manufacturing cars, and Sir Henry Wellcome amassed his fortune from pharmaceuticals. |
| Poverty in Africa has been a recurrent theme in philanthropy | Poverty in Africa has been a recurrent theme in philanthropy |
| The latter three created well-funded trusts or foundations, which remain significant forces in British life and culture today. | The latter three created well-funded trusts or foundations, which remain significant forces in British life and culture today. |
| Recent British families which have turned their attention from business to philanthropy include the Wolfsons and the Sainsburys. But when we think of rich men, piling up prodigious accumulations of wealth, and using some of it to establish charitable foundations, we're more likely to come up with American names and American examples. | Recent British families which have turned their attention from business to philanthropy include the Wolfsons and the Sainsburys. But when we think of rich men, piling up prodigious accumulations of wealth, and using some of it to establish charitable foundations, we're more likely to come up with American names and American examples. |
| Between the end of the Civil War in 1865, and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the United States became known as the world's first "billion dollar country", as it overtook Britain and Germany as the pre-eminent industrial and financial power on the globe. | Between the end of the Civil War in 1865, and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the United States became known as the world's first "billion dollar country", as it overtook Britain and Germany as the pre-eminent industrial and financial power on the globe. |
| Among the creators and the beneficiaries of this extraordinary economic transformation were men like Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, Andrew Mellon and Henry Ford. | Among the creators and the beneficiaries of this extraordinary economic transformation were men like Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, Andrew Mellon and Henry Ford. |
| They became astonishingly rich, far wealthier than their British counterparts and contemporaries, and Carnegie published an influential article entitled "the gospel of wealth", urging his fellow plutocrats to give their money away, as he himself eventually did, on the grounds, as he put it, that "the man who dies rich dies disgraced". | They became astonishingly rich, far wealthier than their British counterparts and contemporaries, and Carnegie published an influential article entitled "the gospel of wealth", urging his fellow plutocrats to give their money away, as he himself eventually did, on the grounds, as he put it, that "the man who dies rich dies disgraced". |
| Different causes | Different causes |
| Many of the new American rich followed Carnegie's exhortations and example, and their fortunes helped to finance the American foundations that to this day bear their names. | Many of the new American rich followed Carnegie's exhortations and example, and their fortunes helped to finance the American foundations that to this day bear their names. |
| These great philanthropic organisations give out hundreds of millions of dollars a year, in support of a wide range of activities and programmes, including the arts, humanities and higher education more generally, as well as for medicine, health, social welfare and social policy. | These great philanthropic organisations give out hundreds of millions of dollars a year, in support of a wide range of activities and programmes, including the arts, humanities and higher education more generally, as well as for medicine, health, social welfare and social policy. |
| There are, then, many different causes to which philanthropists can and do give, and there are also many different reasons why rich men (and, increasingly in our day, rich women) give some, or even all, of their money away. | There are, then, many different causes to which philanthropists can and do give, and there are also many different reasons why rich men (and, increasingly in our day, rich women) give some, or even all, of their money away. |
| Carnegie was a renowned philanthropist | Carnegie was a renowned philanthropist |
| These include the imperatives of religion, the desire for social recognition and acceptance, the need to assuage feelings of guilt, the craving for immortality, the pleasure of handing out large sums of money, and the genuine passion to try to do good, and to make the world a better place. | These include the imperatives of religion, the desire for social recognition and acceptance, the need to assuage feelings of guilt, the craving for immortality, the pleasure of handing out large sums of money, and the genuine passion to try to do good, and to make the world a better place. |
| But there can also be personal and family reasons for taking up philanthropy. As rich people age, they become increasingly aware that they can't take their money with them, and the issue of how to dispose of their wealth becomes increasingly pressing. | But there can also be personal and family reasons for taking up philanthropy. As rich people age, they become increasingly aware that they can't take their money with them, and the issue of how to dispose of their wealth becomes increasingly pressing. |
| It becomes even more challenging if they have no children, or if they regard the progeny that they do have as inappropriate or irresponsible custodians of their own hard-accumulated and carefully-managed wealth. | It becomes even more challenging if they have no children, or if they regard the progeny that they do have as inappropriate or irresponsible custodians of their own hard-accumulated and carefully-managed wealth. |
| One example of such difficulties and dilemmas made the newspapers just after Christmas. It was a story about the American billionaire, Barron Hilton, whose father had made a fortune by creating the international hotel chain that to this day is named after him. | One example of such difficulties and dilemmas made the newspapers just after Christmas. It was a story about the American billionaire, Barron Hilton, whose father had made a fortune by creating the international hotel chain that to this day is named after him. |
| Prodigious fortunes | Prodigious fortunes |
| Instead of leaving his own vast riches to his descendants, Barron Hilton decided to give most of his money to the foundation that his father had established - and one of his reasons for doing so was to ensure that his wealth would not eventually fall into the wayward hands of his granddaughter, Paris Hilton, for whom, as a result, the festive season must have been distinctly less fun than she might have been hoping. | Instead of leaving his own vast riches to his descendants, Barron Hilton decided to give most of his money to the foundation that his father had established - and one of his reasons for doing so was to ensure that his wealth would not eventually fall into the wayward hands of his granddaughter, Paris Hilton, for whom, as a result, the festive season must have been distinctly less fun than she might have been hoping. |
| But this is not the only philanthropic story that's recently made the news, because giving money away has once again become a fashionable subject and a fashionable cause in a manner that hasn't been true since the pioneering days of men like Carnegie, Rockefeller and Ford. | But this is not the only philanthropic story that's recently made the news, because giving money away has once again become a fashionable subject and a fashionable cause in a manner that hasn't been true since the pioneering days of men like Carnegie, Rockefeller and Ford. |
| In recent years, we've witnessed the creation of prodigious fortunes on an unprecedented scale - the American economy may be jittery, but there are now many more billionaires in the United States than there were only ten years ago. | In recent years, we've witnessed the creation of prodigious fortunes on an unprecedented scale - the American economy may be jittery, but there are now many more billionaires in the United States than there were only ten years ago. |
| And once again, the new rich have been busy creating their own philanthropic organizations, most famously Bill Gates, who in 1999 set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with $16bn. But Gates is just the most well known example of a much broader impulse towards philanthropy, one indication of which is that last year, Bill Clinton published a best-selling book, trying to make sense of this new fashion and passion for structured benevolence, which he called, simply, Giving. | And once again, the new rich have been busy creating their own philanthropic organizations, most famously Bill Gates, who in 1999 set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with $16bn. But Gates is just the most well known example of a much broader impulse towards philanthropy, one indication of which is that last year, Bill Clinton published a best-selling book, trying to make sense of this new fashion and passion for structured benevolence, which he called, simply, Giving. |
| Yet there are several ways in which this latest phase of wealth creation and philanthropic disbursement is different from the era of Carnegie, Rockefeller, and their contemporaries. To begin with, these new riches are no longer being created overwhelmingly in the US. | Yet there are several ways in which this latest phase of wealth creation and philanthropic disbursement is different from the era of Carnegie, Rockefeller, and their contemporaries. To begin with, these new riches are no longer being created overwhelmingly in the US. |
| Hands-on strategy | Hands-on strategy |
| With the booming economies of Russia, India, China, and in some parts of the Middle East, there are now more multi-millionaires and billionaires spread around the world than ever before in human history. And their interests are, appropriately, more global in their range and reach than those of their philanthropically-inclined forbears - they want to finance research programmes to cure Aids, or to help eradicate global warming, or to end poverty in Africa. | With the booming economies of Russia, India, China, and in some parts of the Middle East, there are now more multi-millionaires and billionaires spread around the world than ever before in human history. And their interests are, appropriately, more global in their range and reach than those of their philanthropically-inclined forbears - they want to finance research programmes to cure Aids, or to help eradicate global warming, or to end poverty in Africa. |
| And many of the new rich are unwilling to follow philanthropic precedent, by creating foundations, which sooner or later go their own way, and establish their own independent agendas. On the contrary, they're eager to be hands-on, "strategic" philanthropists, overseeing how their money is spent, by setting targets, and demanding results. | And many of the new rich are unwilling to follow philanthropic precedent, by creating foundations, which sooner or later go their own way, and establish their own independent agendas. On the contrary, they're eager to be hands-on, "strategic" philanthropists, overseeing how their money is spent, by setting targets, and demanding results. |
| It's too soon to know what the effect of these new-style philanthropists will be. If you have enough of it, then giving money away is relatively easy - but giving it away so that it makes a significant and substantial difference has always been much more difficult. | It's too soon to know what the effect of these new-style philanthropists will be. If you have enough of it, then giving money away is relatively easy - but giving it away so that it makes a significant and substantial difference has always been much more difficult. |
| That was why Warren Buffett declined to put his multi-billions into a new foundation of his own, but handed them over to the Gates Foundation instead. Although Buffett is a genius at making money, he doubted whether these skills would be of any use when it came to giving it away, and he thought that the Gates Foundation would do a much better job. | That was why Warren Buffett declined to put his multi-billions into a new foundation of his own, but handed them over to the Gates Foundation instead. Although Buffett is a genius at making money, he doubted whether these skills would be of any use when it came to giving it away, and he thought that the Gates Foundation would do a much better job. |
| Considering the prodigious sums involved, we must hope that Buffett is right. He certainly seems to understand both the opportunities, yet also the challenges, of being a philanthropist. Perhaps those challenges were one of the things that RH Tawney had in mind, when he once remarked "what thoughtful rich people call the problem of poverty thoughtful poor people call the problem of riches". | Considering the prodigious sums involved, we must hope that Buffett is right. He certainly seems to understand both the opportunities, yet also the challenges, of being a philanthropist. Perhaps those challenges were one of the things that RH Tawney had in mind, when he once remarked "what thoughtful rich people call the problem of poverty thoughtful poor people call the problem of riches". |
| It's a wise and sobering comment, which today's aspiring new philanthropists would do well to remember. | It's a wise and sobering comment, which today's aspiring new philanthropists would do well to remember. |
Send us your comments using the form below. | Send us your comments using the form below. |
| The irony of Tate and many others is that they built their fortunes on the exploitation of poor Africans - at home and in the Caribbean - and the working poor in Britain. Furthermore, it is important to remember that this largesse often comes with strings attached. Religious fervour inspiring giving is one thing; religion conditioning whether or not gifts are received is another!C Hudson, London England | The irony of Tate and many others is that they built their fortunes on the exploitation of poor Africans - at home and in the Caribbean - and the working poor in Britain. Furthermore, it is important to remember that this largesse often comes with strings attached. Religious fervour inspiring giving is one thing; religion conditioning whether or not gifts are received is another!C Hudson, London England |
| If the wealth of one person is made by the people That person must make the poor equal to the people.Mr thomas Howes, Bampton, Tiverton UK | |
| If these philanthropists are feeling guilty for having so much money maybe they should have been a bit more charitable to the people who made them rich in the 1st place, eg the poorly paid workers, and the customers who bought the overpriced manufactured products of this persons business empire,for without these people there would not be any philanthropsists, or billionaires!John Dobson, Bridgwater, Somerset | |
| Surely the reason that most philantrophists of a vast amount of money are either middle class or self-made entrepreneurs would be that aristocracy and the upperclass depend on inheritance to retain their wealth and their status. Self-made or middle class donors probably do not have the same view of class exclusivity that the upper class have and would be more likely to give away their money?H.Williams, London | |
| I think it is a beautiful thing that so many people are being motivated to make a positive difference with the money they have acquired. Yes, perhaps some will make mistakes in how they go about achieving their philanthropic aims - but we are all human, after all, and thus prone to having to learn and grow - in whatever new endeavour we take up. Putting good intention into action is half the battle - and I think the best that those of us on the sidelines can do is to cheer them on, and hope (in whatever form that takes) that they will do wonderful things - and change many lives for the better, including their own.Margaret Gallagher, London | |
| Giving what one can afford is a very good thing to do. A billionaire might offer a £1Mn sum and a much poorer man might just offer his skill, assets or lesser things. But the difference is remarkably small; both are giving something of themselves. Showing that they care.Alvindalby, Calne UK | |
| Having a passion for the Arts, I always murmur a "thankyou" to the Sainsburys, Sir Henry (the Millais exhibition at the Tate has been superb) whenever I visit. I am inspired not only by what I see, but the fact that I can have access to wonderful works of art, thanks to these Philanthropists. In an increasingly secular, stressful and sometimes negative world, they have given us the oppotunity to access the means for spiritual uplift and soul nurturing - sadly lacking in the general media today.Ruth Corby, Northampton England | |