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Melinda French Gates, MacKenzie Scott, and the New Era of Giving | Pivot

May 31, 2024 / 12:07

This episode covers Melinda French Gates' new philanthropic initiatives, her $1 billion donation plan, and comparisons with McKenzie Scott's giving approach.

Melinda French Gates announced her intention to donate $1 billion globally over the next two years to support women, families, and reproductive rights in the U.S. She will also provide $20 million grants to individuals like former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and director Avid Deer.

The discussion highlights the contrasting philanthropic styles of women like Gates and Scott, emphasizing their focus on impactful giving without seeking recognition. McKenzie Scott's recent donations, including $640 million to over 300 nonprofits, are mentioned as part of a growing trend in women's philanthropy.

The conversation also touches on Richard Reeves' nonprofit, the American Institute for Boys and Men, which received funding from Gates. The hosts express admiration for the proactive approach of women philanthropists compared to some male counterparts who engage in self-serving donations.

Overall, the episode reflects on the positive impact of these women's contributions and critiques the motivations behind some men's philanthropic actions.

TL;DR

Melinda French Gates announces a $1 billion donation plan focused on women and families, contrasting with male philanthropists' self-serving donations.

Video

00:00:00
Melinda French Gates She announced her
00:00:02
next chapter in philanthropy this week
00:00:03
as she prepares to leave the Bill and
00:00:05
Melinda Gates Foundation she plans to
00:00:07
donate $ billion dollar globally over
00:00:09
the next two years to help support women
00:00:11
and families as well as Reproductive
00:00:12
Rights in the US a portion of the money
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will also be distributed in the form of
00:00:16
a $20 million grants to individuals like
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former New Zealand prime minister jenda
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ardar and director Avid Deer uh to use
00:00:25
at their discretion I think Melinda was
00:00:27
a a funer of her recent film for example
00:00:29
and there's a whole bunch of people the
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19th she's given all this these grants
00:00:33
to really terrific groups and it's a
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it's a fascinating move between her and
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McKenzie Scott uh we have entered a very
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interesting era of philanthropy McKenzie
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Scott as you know a former uh was used
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to be married to Jeff Bezos donated $640
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million to over 300 nonprofits a few
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months ago she donated $2.2 billion last
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year she is burning up the getting rid
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of her money off her plate as if it's
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like lava um this is really interesting
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um these two women and then obviously uh
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um Lorraine Powell jobs is making media
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Investments she has her own Emerson
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Collective that does both philanthropy
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and Investments um what do you what do
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what do you think what do you think
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about this I think it's wonderful um I
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think I'm a sexist I think there are
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certain behaviors that are more prone to
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people born as women and born as men and
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one of the things I noticed about uh
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philanthropy from women is they're not
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as big on the ribbon cutting and
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believing that they should have input
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and influence into education because
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they give you know $50 million to the
00:01:38
New York school district not recognizing
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they don't know a [ __ ] thing about
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public school education I find that
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generally speaking when women give money
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away it's in return they ask for Less in
00:01:49
return and they're more promiscuous
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they're like I've got a [ __ ] ton of
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money it makes no sense to hoard wealth
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and I'm going to start pushing it out
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and I'm going to ask for almost nothing
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in return and I think McKenzie Scott is
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an outstanding American I mean look at I
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I'm here for Bill Gates's uh I'm sorry
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I'm here for Jeff Bezos midlife crisis I
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actually enjoy watching it I can relate
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to it but while he's building super
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Yachts for $300
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million you know mckeny Scott is sending
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sending $15 million to the jet
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Foundation to work on teen suicide and
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by the way she doesn't demand anything
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she doesn't want to show up she doesn't
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want her name on anything she just wants
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to get start helping people and this
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field
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this feels like that and then in another
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what I think is just absolutely
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wonderful here and I think I'm going on
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Morning Joe on oh cool you like I do but
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more importantly they like me but I'm
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going on tomorrow and with Richard
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Reeves
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but I'm a glass half empty kind of guy I
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talk a lot about what's wrong with
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America but here's the reality despite
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you know our House of Representatives
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insulting each other's looks despite the
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zombie apocalypse of useful idiots on
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campuses America is singular around some
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really wonderful things and this is an
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American story this is uh and I'm a big
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fan of Richard Reeves he kind of got
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highlighted to me or brought to my
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attention some of the things going on
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with the struggles the young men face
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the guys at the Brookings Institute he's
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an outstanding scholar he takes a risk
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starts his own business it's a nonprofit
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but it's a true nonprofit he doesn't
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answer to Microsoft called the American
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Institute for boys and men he takes a
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risk he starts his thing just to produce
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research around the struggles that young
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men are facing and then a woman named
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Melinda French Gates finds him and gives
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him $20
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million and you know something this is a
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uniquely American story it does happen
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in other parts of the world but it
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doesn't happen as often as it happens in
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America so for all of the [ __ ] posting
00:03:44
and of all of the
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catastrophizing of all of the the
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clickbait around everything that's wrong
00:03:49
with our nation this is one of the
00:03:51
things that's right with it we create
00:03:52
tremendous economic value and then good
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people want to push it out to do good
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work I I just love this story I'm really
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happy for Richard
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and also Melinda French Gates has said
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bodily autonomy and women's rights are
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hugely important she's passionate about
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it it's wonderful but at the same time
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she said if we're going to have a a a
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Vibrant Community who wants more
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economically and emotionally viable
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young men women that's right and she's
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giving money to an Institute that's
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focused on boys I I think she's I think
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she's wonderful go Melinda French gay
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let me make a a comparison of something
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we just talked about these sort of
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childlike childish men men are doing
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their stupid Trump fundraiser with very
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little money that they're putting out to
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get a lot of influence and doing no good
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for Humanity except for themselves
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except for like self-aggrandizing
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themselves both jamath and David saxs
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and also Elon Musk is doing this but
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doing nothing to help all of society
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they're just giving a ping amount of
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money to horish politicians in order to
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have influence meanwhile Melinda Gates
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and uh and McKenzie Bezos are using
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money real money real money not little
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tiny multi-million dollar $5,000
00:05:04
donations to have dinner with a with
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someone who has been found liable for
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rape no they're not using their money
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for that they're giving away billions
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and billions of dollars to laudable
00:05:15
people across the globe to make the
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world a better place what a [ __ ]
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comparison these men are sad and
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[ __ ] and these women have balls as
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big as all ever that's all I'll say
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dickas Jesus Christ dickas sorry by the
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way my no but they're doing this so they
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can have a party in Silicon Valley for
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trump it drives me nuts that these
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people think they're important when this
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is where the real if you have money like
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this this is what you should do with it
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thank you well again these it's not
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they're not presenting their money to
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issues they're using a small amount of
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money to present themselves that's
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correct it's it this isn't one is Vanity
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one is philanthropy but I don't know if
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you knew this but my girlfriend often
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compared me to Bill Gates when we would
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have sex because I'm Microsoft oh my God
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literally putting a penis joke on my
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power all that you are angry this
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morning you are going after you got to
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be careful in San Francisco there's a
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lot of these these pretend to care about
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the world they don't care about the
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world that's the thing these women do
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they're actually putting their money
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where their mouth is and they're not by
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the way are you hearing from McKenzie
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Scott she just gives the money and
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leaves in the dark of night Molina
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French Gates gave a few interviews
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talking and she's giving to help
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reproductive right she and by the way
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they're putting it all over the place
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it's not just in like liberal causes
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they're putting it in places that matter
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for kids and families they're putting it
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to feed people they're putting it to
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it's just like the contrast is so vast
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I'm not mad I'm like why do we these
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terrible men compared to these amazing
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women is just such a great contrast for
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me um for me and understanding what's
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going on by the way FYI a lot of these
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people one of the things that the gates
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is did start was the giving pledge with
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with um Warren Buffett in 2010 Sam Alman
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and his husband just announced that they
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plan to give away most of their wealth
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as part of the giving pledge I've always
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thought that was a cool thing I don't
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know I've always thought I don't think
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it is you don't why tell me why I don't
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know I I to pledge to give away all your
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wealth why is that okay big [ __ ] deal
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okay I pledge to give away all my wealth
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this is what it means all right I'm
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going to put a couple billion dollars
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into a donor advise fund MH and this is
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different this is the giving pledge this
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is not that but the giving pledge all
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the giving pledge says is that after I'm
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dead that somebody is going to give my
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money away okay I don't okay fine great
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you don't believe in dynastic wealth it
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has absolutely no impact on you maybe
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you even put it into a donor advice fund
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where you get a tax deduction against it
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that's different yeah but that's that's
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a component of this notion that you're a
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good person because at some point you're
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going to give your money away and I'm
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going to a lot of virtu signaling right
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now I hit my number seven years ago and
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I've decided that above that number I'm
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giving everything away now because
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here's the thing this is a virus that
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alss America hoarding money Fair there
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needs to be a movement in America that
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once you hit your number you just start
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giving it away now you don't say I want
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credit for being a great guy after I
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have had all my Boeing Business Jets
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after I have bought football teams after
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I've had seven midlife crises and then
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when I'm dead and it no longer matters
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to me I'll give it away there is no you
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have literally just convinced me you are
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correct I don't say this very often uhoh
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cat's living with dogs the world has
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stopped rotating God you're right you're
00:08:32
right I that's why I love these badass
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women they're giving it away lit you
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know what the goal is the goal is to
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give an I'll leave my kids a little bit
00:08:42
of money but this is the goal to be at
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the end of your life to spent the money
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on other people and experiences and be
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surrounded die at home be surrounded by
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people who are going to be really bummed
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that you're leaving not not a bunch of
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press releases saying why the [ __ ] are
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you worth a hundred billion dollar yeah
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SC why didn't you start giving it away
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at how much you leaving your kids what
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is the number what's the number one
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leaves one kid uh I I'm this is the
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challenge and this is a good problem but
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you want to give them enough money such
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that they can do anything but not enough
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money such that they can do nothing ah
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yes and the key is I mean again this is
00:09:16
the world buy a house give them money
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for a house that's what I say money that
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quite frankly they don't have access to
00:09:21
until they're 25 35 and 45 MH money for
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Education money for a home but not
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enough money such that they don't have
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to work yep that's we're on the same
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parenting thing that's the thing that's
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correct yes that's exactly but I've
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decided and I love it I hit my number
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seven years ago my number is probably a
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lot lower than most of these guys and
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I'm like anything above that I'm going
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to either spend it at the hotel du cap
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yes on me by the way on friends and
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people I love or I'm going to give it
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away there is no reason once you're
00:09:51
above a certain number to hoard wealth
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I'm a big fan of Daniel Conan and I went
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back and read some of his work when he
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passed
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away let let's pick a number $100
00:10:00
million of a $100 million if it grows
00:10:03
four or 6% a year four to six million
00:10:05
bucks a year gets you a beautiful home a
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beautiful second home a flexjet card do
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whatever you want with whomever you want
00:10:13
pretty much all of the time you can just
00:10:15
have an extraordinary life the
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difference between a 100 million and a
00:10:18
billion there's no marginal increase in
00:10:21
the quality of your life there is as a
00:10:22
matter of fact there'll be some incre
00:10:24
you can buy a football team you can have
00:10:26
more influence over politics but there's
00:10:27
also a downside people start Tak taking
00:10:29
pictures of your kids people start start
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running stories you about you in TMZ
00:10:35
there is a downside so if there's no
00:10:37
incremental gain in happiness and so
00:10:39
many people would benefit from the types
00:10:42
of donations that Mackenzie Scott and
00:10:44
Melinda French gates are making why on
00:10:46
Earth wouldn't you enjoy that happiness
00:10:49
yeah and not hoard wealth and help
00:10:50
people you're you know what this is this
00:10:52
was a very good explanation I'm still I
00:10:54
still think the others are shameful and
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these women are ballers that's my
00:10:59
feeling good for them well they're true
00:11:02
they they Define what it the word giving
00:11:06
is overused and they have earned the
00:11:08
right they own the right to say that
00:11:10
they are giving what these other folks
00:11:12
are doing is consumption it's PR a lot
00:11:15
of its virtu saying I'm going to give
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all my money away after I'm dead who the
00:11:18
[ __ ] I don't care what happens to my
00:11:20
money after I'm dead that's not doing
00:11:21
anything that's not should be now that's
00:11:24
100% wand around and give people $100
00:11:26
bills let's do that and also let me be
00:11:29
cap here I also think it's really
00:11:31
wonderful and good for the world to
00:11:33
spend it spend a [ __ ] ton of money put
00:11:36
it back into the economy enjoy it the
00:11:39
world offers amazing things that you can
00:11:41
spend money on I don't I I think it's
00:11:43
great when people spend a ton of money
00:11:44
and I'm Scott I feel like this should be
00:11:46
your next book spend spend [ __ ] spend
00:11:50
the new novel see this is why I love the
00:11:52
show you have shifted my thoughts in a
00:11:53
very good way in a very helpful way
00:11:55
anyway uh I still I love these women I
00:11:57
think they're great anyway uh let it
00:11:59
makes me feel so much better about the
00:12:00
other [ __ ]

Badges

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Episode Highlights

  • Melinda French Gates' New Chapter
    Melinda French Gates announces her plans to donate $1 billion globally to support women and families.
    “I'm going to start pushing it out and I'm going to ask for almost nothing in return.”
    @ 01m 55s
    May 31, 2024
  • A New Era of Philanthropy
    The philanthropic landscape is changing with influential women like Melinda Gates and McKenzie Scott leading the way.
    “This is one of the things that's right with America.”
    @ 03m 51s
    May 31, 2024
  • The Contrast in Philanthropy
    A stark difference is noted between the philanthropic efforts of women and men in today's society.
    “These women do—they're actually putting their money where their mouth is.”
    @ 06m 15s
    May 31, 2024

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Billion Dollar Commitment00:07
  • Women in Philanthropy00:38
  • Contrast in Giving06:15

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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