# Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World - Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/books/winners-take-all-the-elite-charade-of-changing-the-world/ - Published: 2020-01-30T07:35:00+00:00 - Author: Howard Lake Estimated reading time: 4 minutes **The global elite say they want to change the world. But what if the way they go about it, through philanthropy, consultancies, impact investing, and thought leadership, is precisely what keeps the world the way it is? Anand Giridharadas’s blistering investigation takes us inside the inner sanctums of a new gilded age, where the rich and powerful fight for justice any way they can, except ways that threaten their position at the top.** In this revelatory investigation, Anand Giridharadas traces what he calls the “win- win” logic of the new gilded age: the belief, prevalent among elite donors and impact investors, that social change should always benefit both society and the change- maker’s bottom line. This logic, he argues, systematically excludes any change that might actually redistribute power or wealth. Any reform that would require the winners to give something up, rather than simply adding “giving back” to their portfolio, stands no chance. The philanthrocapitalists rebrand themselves as ‘saviours of the poor’; they lavishly reward “thought leaders” who redefine “change” in winner-friendly terms; and they seek constantly to do more good, but never less harm. Why is America living in an age of profound and widening economic inequality? Why have even modest attempts to address climate change been defeated again and again? And why, as the super-rich pour billions into philanthropy and social change, does so little actually change? Anand Giridharadas spent years inside the world of elite philanthropy (the Aspen Institute, the World Economic Forum, the Clinton Global Initiative) and came to a troubling conclusion: the very people funding “change” are the same people whose business practices, tax strategies, and political lobbying helped create the problems they claim to be solving. * [**Buy the book**](https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0141990910?tag=219) Why should our gravest problems be solved by consultancies, technology companies and corporate-sponsored charities instead of public institutions and elected officials? Why should we rely on scraps from the winners? Trenchant and gripping, this is an indispensable guide and call to action for elites and citizens alike. ## No conspiracy theory This is not a conspiracy theory: it is an observation about structural incentives, and Giridharadas makes it with great care and considerable self-awareness (he is himself a product of the very world he criticises). The book is written as narrative journalism, following a cast of characters including a celebrated foundation boss, a young McKinsey consultant trying to do good, and a former US president navigating his plutocratic benefactors. It is genuinely gripping as well as genuinely important. For UK fundraisers and charity leaders, _Winners Take All_ raises questions that travel well across the Atlantic. The growth of corporate social responsibility, the rise of impact investing, the increasing influence of major donors in shaping charity strategy are British as well as American phenomena. The core challenge that Giridharadas identifies, whether private generosity can ever substitute for structural change, is one that every fundraiser who has ever pitched a transformational donor will recognise. ## About Anand Giridharadas **Anand Giridharadas** is a journalist, author, and commentator. A former foreign correspondent and columnist for The New York Times for more than a decade, he has also written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Time. _Winners Take All_ is an international bestseller and won the Porchlight Business Book of the Year Award. He is also the author of _The Persuaders_, _The True American_, and _India _Calling. He is an on-air political analyst for MSNBC. ## Reviews “A splendid polemic. Giridharadas writes brilliantly on the parasitic philanthropy industry.” **The Economist** “Trenchant, provocative and well-researched. Read it and beware.” **Martha Lane Fox, Financial Times Books of the Year** “Hugely enjoyable — a spirited examination of the hypocrisy of the super-rich who claim they are helping the world.” **Aditya Chakrabortty, Guardian** “Giridharadas writes on two levels — seemingly tactful and subtle — but ultimately he presents a devastating portrait of a whole class, one easier to satirize than to reform.” **Joseph Stiglitz, New York Times Book Review** “A challenging, provocative and bold book. I don’t agree with all of Anand’s critiques, but I encourage everyone to read it and think hard about his take on the social sector.” **Mark Tercek, CEO, The Nature Conservancy** “Levels a devastating attack on philanthrocapitalism.” **Benjamin Soskis, The Chronicle of Philanthropy** ## More by Anand Giridharadas * [The Persuaders: Winning hearts and minds in a divided age](https://fundraising.co.uk/books/the-persuaders-winning-hearts-and-minds-in-a-divided-age/) ## Related books on UK Fundraising * _[Philanthrocapitalism](https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/09/27/amazon-239/)_ (Bishop& Green) for a more sympathetic treatment of the same phenomenon; * _[No Such Thing as a Free Gift](https://fundraising.co.uk/books/gates-foundation-no-such-thing-as-free-gift/)_( McGoey) for a similar critique focused on the Gates Foundation; * [_Dark Money_](https://fundraising.co.uk/books/dark-money/) (Mayer) for the political dimension of elite philanthropic power; * _Limitarianism_ (Robeyns) for the philosophical case against extreme wealth.