December 2020 | InspiredByPenta.com | 7
Rising
Philanthropists,
Focused
On Results
I
ncreasingly, wealthy individuals
are taking a strategic approach to
philanthropy, aiming to achieve
specific outcomes rather than
simply writing a check.
It’s a results-oriented approach that
Bill and Melinda Gates have embraced
with global outcomes for poverty, health
care, and education. As the Gates say in
their letter to rising philanthropists
(opposite page), their goal isn’t “incre-
mental progress,” but “to put the full
force of our efforts and resources
behind the big bets that, if successful,
will save and improve lives.”
A new generation of philanthropists
is embracing this same approach, and
“thinking beyond their local communi-
ties,” says Judy Spalthoff, head of family
advisory and philanthropy services at
UBS. “They are absolutely less inter-
ested in traditional giving.”
On the following pages, we profile
the new guard of philanthropists,
including siblings Justin and Valerie
Rockefeller, descendants of Standard
Oil founder John D. Rockefeller Sr., who
are active impact investors and philan-
thropists; Josh Lauder, who is following
in his grandfather Leonard’s footsteps
at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery
Foundation; Golden State Warriors star
Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha,
who seek to improve the lives of chil-
dren in Oakland, Calif.; and Adrian
Cheng, heir to Cheng Yu-tung, founder
of Hong Kong’s New World Develop-
ment and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises,
who is pioneering cross-cultural proj-
ects in the arts.
This rising generation of philanthro-
pists is “open to new ideas and trying
new things,” Spalthoff says, adding that
they tell her, “if it doesn’t work, then
we don’t waste time on it...It is a whole
new world.”
—Abby Schultz