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Further to the article by Andrew Hunter Murray (“Billionaires want to save the world. Is that so wrong?”, FT Magazine, July 1), I concur, ultra-high net worth individuals truly possess a superpower — the ability to absorb financial risks that governments and institutions struggle with.
History testifies that philanthropic investments into high-risk, early-stage innovations hold tremendous potential to achieve global impact. The evidence is reflected through the eradication of polio globally, the creation of a universal 911 service and the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in tackling malaria.
But we must not confuse patronage with philanthropy — while each play their part, they have different motivations and often outcomes. Everyday, we bear witness to another billionaire putting their name to a high-profile experiment in the pursuit of self-aggrandisement rather than any genuine domain expertise. What these ventures possess in capital, they lack in strategy — ultimately doomed to see the project fall out of orbit.
True philanthropy requires the patience to test bold ideas and to absorb the consequences of misfires, in order to build domain expertise to go again. It doesn’t require infinite wealth, but that powerful concoction of a risk-taking mindset combined with time, knowledge and network. This mindset holds the power to not only make a ripple, but to change the tide.
Moonshot philanthropy is a theory inspired by John F Kennedy’s 1962 commitment to putting people on the moon within a decade. Much like Kennedy’s moonshot, this approach is high risk and high reward, seeing that the potential of failure is outweighed by the opportunity to deliver lasting change.
I would encourage philanthropists to tap into the spirit of 1962. To accelerate real change on a global scale, philanthropists should interpret “shoot for the moon” a little less literally. As we face arguably society’s biggest challenges in history — climate change, poverty and health inequity — philanthropists must now turn their attention to the pipeline of disruptive innovation here on Earth.
James Chen
Chairman, Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, Bath, UK
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