Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age

David Callahan, founder and editor of Inside Philanthrophy; author of The Givers (Knopf, April 2017)

in conversation with

Alexander Heffner, host of PBS’s The Open Mind

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’s new book, The Givers: Wealth, Power and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age, charts the rise of these new power players and the ways in which they are converting the fortunes of a second Gilded Age into influence.

“Today's big philanthropy is arising in an era when the wealthy already seem to control so much territory in America,” Callahan writes. “This is deeply troubling. But...a simple narrative about plutocratic power is the wrong way to understand big philanthropy. Thing are more complicated...Even if you worry about inequality, it's hard not to feel hope as super-empowered, high-minded givers look to solve probems in ways that get around partisan gridlock or dated ideas.”

Callahan will speak Alexander Heffner, host of PBS’s The Open Mind about how the new class of mega donors works behind the scenes on education, the environment, science, LGBT rights, and many other issues—with deep impact on government policy. Based on extensive research and interviews with countless donors and policy experts, The Givers is not a brief for or against anyone, but rather a fascinating investigation of a power shift in American society that has implications for us all.

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