December 2007
In an article titled “The Most Elite Club in the World,” Businessweek’s Aili McConnon looks at Synergos’ Global Philanthropists Circle, exploring the origins, goals and challenges of bringing wealthy people together to increase the impact of their philanthropy.
She writes:
“It’s also difficult to assess the actual balance between substance and style at the GPC. Do its members become more effective philanthropists after chatting with the likes of Partners in Health founder Paul Farmer at the elegant Asia Society on Manhattan’s Park Avenue? Certainly, they may be more inspired after visiting Nelson Mandela in South Africa and think more strategically after chatting with former Mexican President Vicente Fox or Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.”
The piece concludes quoting South African GPC Member Hylton Appelbaum:
“If I learn about someone else tackling the same problem in a brilliant way, I can fast-track what I’m doing by taking a leaf out of their book. I don't have to reinvent the wheel. Well, that’s priceless.”
Read “The Most Elite Club in the World” in Businessweek, November 25, 2007