The Power of Elite Philanthropy: Dinner and Discussion with David Callahan

Join us for an armchair chat with David Callahan, founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, and author of many books including his latest, The Givers.

This most recent work gives us an inside look at the hidden world of elite philanthropists—and how they’re quietly wielding ever more power to shape American life in ways both good and bad.

While the media focuses on billionaire givers such as Bill Gates and Charles Koch, thousands of donors are at work below the radar promoting a wide range of causes. David Callahan charts the rise of these new power players and the ways they are converting the great fortunes of a second Gilded Age into influence. Drawing on interviews with top philanthropists, he explores what drives them to give and how they’re pursuing big changes to American life.

In The Givers, we meet a savvy and ambitious elite that is working behind the scenes on the most pressing issues of our time—education, the environment, health, criminal justice, and much more—with deep impact that affects us all. Looking ahead, Callahan argues that the influence of big philanthropy is only just beginning, as new waves of billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg turn to giving in an era when government is in decline.

Whether you cheer or fear these wealthy power players, their rise presents tough dilemmas for democracy. The Giversexplores the proper role of private wealth in public life and, at every turn, comes back to an urgent question: Who’s really in charge of America these days?