Philanthropy Talks @92Y with Leonard Lauder & Chris Huges

Last night's talk at the 92nd Y was WHY WE GIVE: Philanthropists on the State of Philanthropy.  The facilitator for the panel was Darren Walker, Pres. of the Ford Fdtn. The panel consisted of Lulu Wang, CEO of Tupelo Captial Mgmt.. Leonard Lauder, chairman emeritus of the Lauder Cosmetics Co., and Chris Hughes, co-founder with Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.  The panel was comprised of very different social & ethnic backgrounds.  All shared the commitment to making an impact by sharing.  Memorable comments:  Mr. Hughes- Giving directly to individuals has been proven to improve their livelihood as supported by data.  GiveDirectly focuses on 2 countries in Africa.  An important follow-up question would be how do you prioritize needs outside the U.S. over domestic issues.  Mr. Lauder said his biggest mistake in giving is yet to be determined with regard to having relocated the Whitney to  the HighLine. He was not in favor of the decision but was financially supportive despite holding the minority view.  I was curious to know his reservations.  The biggest concern discussed by all three had to do with the financial inequality in our country.  Ms. Wang spoke in praise of capitalism but stressed  her concern for the rapidly growing disparity.  The most important topic of what measures are needed to mitigate this most pressing issue was sorely missed from the discussions.