Do the Fruits of Philanthropy Now Fall Closer Than Ever to the Tree? (Spring 2015)

The proportion of the post recession recovery proceeds has overwhelmingly favored the top 1 percent of asset holders. So, at first glance, the fact that the total amount of money given away by the very wealthy is rising looks like a positive trend—except that the majority of these donations are “mega-gifts” of $80 million or above, and are given to rich institutions that tend to have played a role in the donors’ lives and that do not redistribute the wealth to those in need via such services as housing endowments and food pantries.  by the editors