After over three years of writing these weekly columns, I thought it would be useful to tell the story of the group that appears in the byline of each of these pieces. It all started in 2006 when a group of people united around a common mission: to use business to fight world poverty.
Craig Wilson
The 1920s are known as the “roaring twenties.” One reason for this is that the stock market was booming and it seemed like money was there for the taking. A man named Charles Ponzi certainly thought so: At the very start of the decade he was working a fraudulent investment scheme, which continues to bear
After the fall of the Soviet Union, a new economic world opened for dozens of countries in Eastern Europe. No longer under the control of a domineering communist regime, individual nations and economies entered directly into world markets formerly unavailable to them.
One of these countries is the Republic of Uzbekistan. Situated north of Iran and
We all know poverty wreaks havoc on families, but rarely do we see the corrosive effects extreme poverty has on even the strongest of bonds, such as those between parents and children.
Jake Roble was an intern for me at the University of Oxford and returned from studying child slavery in Ghana in West Africa, where
I was recently speaking with someone who was defrauded in an investment. This person had a fairly successful career in corporate finance before he retired so I questioned him closely on how he came to be defrauded. After about five minutes of discussion he stated, “But the thing that really threw me was that the
Investments occur over time, and therefore the time element of interest rate “compounding” is extremely important. By compounding we mean interest that is paid on interest, which been reinvested; in other words, “interest on interest.” If this seems confusing, please stay with it until it becomes clear. To understand why, consider that Albert Einstein once
Poverty is present all over the world. The United States is not immune to poverty — more than one in 10 Americans have an income below the poverty level. Although there is no consensus as to the cause of poverty, there are certain variables that are associated with it.
Learn how to start a mentorship relationship
Following an earlier column on consumer debt, I had the opportunity to discuss the subject with a number of people. One of the questions I was asked was particularly enlightening: “In addition to scaling back spending, what else can someone do to better manage their debt?”
My answer: “read all of the terms of your credit
Attending college has become increasingly politicized. As a result, discussing the relative costs and benefits of college has become somewhat contentious. This is unfortunate because for many people paying for college will be their second largest purchase, second only to their home.
Similar to purchasing a home, many people fund college with debt. The trend of
Fancy dining and charity have been closely linked since at least the 19th century. What better way to raise funds for a charity than to collect potential donors together and to feed them? Ticket sales alone raise money, and then an inspirational program conducted over a sumptuous luncheon or dinner persuades the paying guests to reach more deeply into
Personal debt levels are very high and, since the recent financial crisis, are rapidly rising. The reasons why levels are so high vary. For example, some people have mortgages so and therefore they get a long term asset that comes with their debt. Others, however, fund leisure goods through borrowing.
The scope of leisure goods is
I grew up in the suburbs of Milwaukee, WI. I have many lovely memories of my childhood, often bright and hyperbolic in a way that can only come from the childish excitement of discovery. One such memory is of “The Pothole.” The Pothole was legendary among neighborhood children, and its borders were avoided with gleeful
I was recently speaking with someone about the personal financial challenges that I have observed over time. Toward the end of our conversation the person I was speaking with stated that, “It would likely be helpful if you could distill key personal finance “rules” into a grand list that is easy to follow. Sort of
A good friend recently asked me several questions about selecting a charity. As I was considering how to respond, he asked, “Isn’t it a lot like selecting an investment?”
There are obvious differences between making an investment and supporting a charity. Primary amongst these is that charities are generally chosen to align with one’s belief system
Winston Churchill is widely regarded as one of the most influential people of the 20th Century. Many political and military books have been written about him. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I came across a recently published book that chronicled Mr. Churchill’s life from a personal finance perspective.
David Lough’s superb book, “No More Champagne:
In the first week of November 2015, Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, reported that the percentage of people living in extreme poverty is projected to fall to around 9.6 percent by the end of this year. While this is excellent news, and mostly due to Chinese economic growth, the fact remains that
Inequality is a phenomenon that humans have dealt with for millennia. No society has been able eliminate inequality and it’s unlikely to ever disappear completely. In the US, inequality has become an increasingly popular topic in the media as different groups advocate for higher wages or additional benefits. A recent poll conducted by The New
Tzu-Chi is a Buddhist humanitarian aid foundation that has helped the world through many of its greatest hardships since its start in Taiwan in 1966. Its support in some of the U.S.’s most recent tragedies has been vital to our recovery. For example, on Sept. 11, 2001, only three charity organizations were allowed on ground
The American people are no strangers to the spirit of charitable giving. A phenomenal figure from Charity Navigator shows that as many as 50 percent of American households donated money when the 2010 earthquake devastated Haiti.
This giving accumulated to $1.4 billion. Another example of American goodness was the $1.6 billion donated to victims of the
In 1964, then-President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war. Not a foreign war to be waged against another country fought with soldiers, tanks and bombs, but a war to be waged at home.
The enemy: poverty. The weapons: initiatives intent on improving education, health, skills, jobs and access to economic resources for those stuck in poverty. The
