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