The Givers

Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age

By: David Callahan

Narrated by: Ryan Gesell

An inside look at the secretive world of elite philanthropists--and how they're quietly wielding ever more power to shape American life in ways both good and bad.

While media attention focuses on famous philanthropists 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 fortunes of a second Gilded Age into influence. He shows how this elite works behind the scenes on education, the environment, science, LGBT rights, and many other issues--with deep impact on government policy. Above all, he shows that the influence of the Givers is only just beginning, as new waves of billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg turn to philanthropy. Based on extensive research and interviews with countless donors and policy experts, this is not a brief for or against the Givers, but a fascinating investigation of a power shift in American society that has implications for us all.

Critic reviews

"David Callahan has performed a public service by assembling a striking body of information on a fundamental aspect of 21st-century America." —Robert G. Kaiser, The Washington Post

"Callahan offers a peek inside a rarefied, poorly understood world with ever greater power to remake the broader world." —Michelle Cottle, The New York Times Book Review

"A convincing argument… Callahan is intimately familiar with today’s living donors and how they are spending their money, and his book is replete with examples of philanthropists that are upending the democratic process." —Alana Semuels, The Atlantic

"[A] fascinating look into perhaps one of the least understood trends in the public square." —Dan Kaplan, Booklist (Starred Review)

"An intriguing look at the world of big-ticket philanthropy... An eye-opening view of a vast sector of the economy that lies in the shadows but has undue influence, for ill or good." —Kirkus

insightful

I did enjoy it and its approach makes you think twice about how philanthropy operates in a gilded age.

Great Book About Enormous Power of Philanthropy

Great book which provides insight into the world of wealthy donors and their enormous impact on public policy and discourse. Book addresses how philanthropic efforts have evolved including changes in approach by wealthy to donate wealth during their lives rather than afterwards. Book also addresses need for more government oversight and transparency into charitable contributions. Marginalized people are too often left out and the average person has little effect on public policy. Great read and highly recommend.

Read this and learn, think, reflect on philanthropy

Solid data and analysis, a nice mixture of a journalistic approach and editorializing with recommendations.

being charitable isn't as easy as you would think

I've learned many things in this book. Great wealth can dictate great changes. Great wealth philanthropy can also elicit push back and anger. By feeding billions of charitable dollars to the institutions of today, it appears that we get the same results that we have today. If we would like new results we're going to have to find new ideas and different types of institutions.

At the heart of the great inequalities lies the difference between what the lowest worker earns and what the highest workers earn. The highest workers in some companies earn tens of thousands times the lowest workers in the very same company . When five people in the United States have as much wealth as the bottom 45% of this country, a perfect recipe for great social discord and unrest is generated. This disparity brings hunger, pain, suffering, crime, distrust and a sense of hopelessness in 99% of Americans. When you don't have the wealth and financial reserves two create a prosperous home life for your family, this leads to desperation in the family which in turn leads to nowhere good for the entire Society.

I should have listened to a sample!

The book is too long, I felt like skipping ahead countless times although overall the content was good. The problem is the narrator. He changes his voice when he's quoting someone, which I understand is a challenge, but it's AWFUL when he quotes women! All I could think about was that he sounded exactly like Mrs. Doubtfire. It would have been funny if it wasn't so terrible.