Post on 14-Jul-2015
transcript
Letters to a Billionaire
david sasaki
@oso
david@davidsasaki.name
bill gates and thomas picketty have a skype call
1. Humanitarian assistance for the world's war-
ravaged people (+Ebola response
2. Food for the year for 3.1 million American families
3. College educations for 278,000 students
4. Amazon conservation
5. Five record-setting midterm elections
6. Two aircraft carriers
things you can buy for $21B:
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/12/warren-buffett-bill-gates-2014-billions
85 people have as much wealth as the poorest half of
the earth
http://bit.ly/1FHOelk
1. How I got here2. Four questions I’d like to answer3. Here’s how
journalism > gv > rv > t4t > osf > on > gates
1. Open Society Foundations — George Soros,
Hedge Fund, rooted in Karl Popper’s “Open Society”
2. Omidyar Network — Pierre Omidyar, eBay,
“people are good, but unable to cooperate”
3. Gates Foundation — Bill Gates, Microsoft,
utilitarian rational calculations. End the birth lottery
of productive living hours.
experience > ideology > strategy
1. Is philanthropy or government the more efficient investor
of wealth in society?
2. How will innovation affect philanthropy over next 20
years? How will philanthropy affect innovation?
3. What is philanthropy’s sweet spot? What falls in the gap
between government and business?
4. What are philanthropy’s most effective tactics? Information?
Institutions? Imagination? Innovation? Individuals?
questions i have:
letters to a billionaire
Letter 1: What is the purpose of philanthropy?Letter 2: What are the tools of philanthropy?Letter 3: What isn’t philanthropy? Letter 4: The tradeoffs of scale: breadth versus depth
Letter 5: The future of philanthropy in healthLetter 6: The future of philanthropy in educationLetter 7: The future of philanthropy in economic empowermentLetter 8: The future of philanthropy in conservationLetter 9: The future of philanthropy in food securityLetter 10: The future of philanthropy in human rightsLetter 11: The future of philanthropy in democracy
Letter 12: Conclusion
i’d like to learn new things
Conservation Climate Change / Renewables
Advocacy, Purchase land, educate public
Invest in innovations, advocate for incentives,
change behaviors
Clear public good. (Everyone benefits, no one wants to pay) No role for
private sector
Blurry roles between private investors,
government incentives, philanthropy
letters to a billionaire
Letter 1: What is the purpose of philanthropy?Letter 2: What are the tools of philanthropy?Letter 3: What isn’t philanthropy? Letter 4: The tradeoffs of scale: breadth versus depth
Letter 5: The future of philanthropy in healthLetter 6: The future of philanthropy in educationLetter 7: The future of philanthropy in economic empowermentLetter 8: The future of philanthropy in conservationLetter 9: The future of philanthropy in food securityLetter 10: The future of philanthropy in human rightsLetter 11: The future of philanthropy in democracy
Letter 12: Conclusion