Next-gen wealth: a new path for redistribution

Increasingly, the next generation of wealth holders are relating differently to their wealth, with some even experiencing a repulsion in response to the financial and philanthropic paradigm they are part of: from the historical origin of their wealth, to the way it’s invested, managed and distributed in the present.

As tectonic shifts move societal values, wealth holders are moving too. But often there is only a small window of opportunity when they might express their values in the way they redistribute their wealth—before they are ‘sucked in’ and become part of the system that defends wealth and upholds the status quo.

Traditionally, wealth holders might have expressed their values by setting up a foundation that could define its own priorities for fund distribution. But setting up a foundation is slow, costly, and aligned with the problematic philanthropic paradigm which many are seeking to move beyond. What was once an aspirational thing to do is now, for some, something they would not want to identify themselves with.

Experimentation with new models can highlight two things. Firstly, it can show the direction of travel when it comes to shifting values. Secondly, it can shine a light on alternative routes forward—ones that others could replicate or further innovate. Marlene Engelhorn is a great example of this (see: Time article).

How might we make experimentation, and adoption of alternatives, easier and more desirable?

With such a huge pressure on people to invest (now!) into a very different future trajectory, there is a great need to radically shift and accelerate wealth redistribution in defence of the interests of the many, not the few.

There are many fantastic organisations who are helping wealth holders to steward wealth responsibly, by educating and advising them—such as the Good Ancestor Movement and Patriotic Millionaires.

Our hack is highly complementary, as we seek to prototype and propose a practical mechanism or mechanisms that would enable wealth holders to break out of the restrictions that they are subject to within the Wealth Defense paradigm—allowing them to radically redistribute their wealth quickly and in line with their values.

Could we accelerate radical redistribution of wealth by providing a democratised, values-aligned fund-distribution service for the next generation of wealth holders? What doors might fiscal hosting open when it comes to creating this service? (Please note we have included a definition of fiscal hosting in the attachments section in case it’s helpful).

Our hack will respond to these questions through a rapid exploration and prototyping of a new service for younger wealth holders (in the UK), that could align to their values and short circuit some of the philanthropic infrastructure that would ordinarily stand between them and the redistribution they seek.

At this stage we imagine a service that would weave several approaches together to create a new way to distribute wealth—combining fiscal hosting, Open Collective, a pooled fund which multiple wealth holders could contribute to, a democratic decision making group representative of the UK population, and a 6-week sprint process for decision making. But, crucially, this funding would enable us to develop, test and refine a prototype proposition—and start to test demand.

So far, we have understood that in order for fund redistribution to align to emerging wealth holder values, it should be:

• faster and less bureaucratic;

• democratic and representative (with decision making and governance that disrupts traditional philanthropic power dynamics and puts power in the hands of those who can truly represent the relevant populations);

• transparent (accountability shaped by making flows of capital visible); and

• defending the interests of the many, not the few.

Fiscal hosting (and associated approaches) can help create all four of these shifts—and probably others. For example, by allowing capital to flow through alternative channels, fiscal hosting can circumvent the philanthropic, charitable paradigm, aiding speed and less restrictions. Fiscal hosting can allow decision making to be fully devolved into an unincorporated group representative of the UK and civic/collective interests. Using a host in combination with Open Collective can allow full transparency of transactions. And, fiscal hosting can help capital reach people and groups traditionally excluded from philanthropy, further supporting civic/collective interests.

It feels important to acknowledge that there are existing services for wealth holders (e.g. https://www.foundationscotland.org.uk/set-up-your-own-fund), but they tend to be closed-door, not transparent, operating within the restrictions of the philanthropic paradigm, excluding many people and organisations, and often still designed to help wealth holders retain rather than distribute control.

To implement this hack we will:

1. Connect with a small group of UK wealth holders (drawing on networks at Thirty Percy Foundation and through the Wealth Hackers Initiative) to understand their needs more deeply and shape initial ideas about how a model could be designed.

2. Explore and prioritise options for the democratic governance of a decision making group, and the process through which decisions would be made.

3. Use the fruits of these conversations and research (1 + 2) to develop proposition/s to test with wealth holders.

4. Share a public version of the proposition as a provocation to the sector to create wider impact, gather further feedback and spark more connections and interest.

5. Understand next steps and iterative priorities.

1. The process of working on this hack would create changes of perspective and behaviour within those people that we connect with. Research conversations and interactions as part of this work would spread and cross-fertilise ideas, shifting the dial in terms of what people believe to be possible—and the ideas they go on to spread themselves.

2. A proposition would be out there in the world, shared with the wider field, acting as a provocation and a challenge to those who engage with it. We would aim for this proposition to contribute to a shift in the narrative about what’s possible in this space.

3. We hope the initial hack and creation of the prototype would spark opportunities for an in-practice pilot, further opening the door to longer-term, material impact. By prioritising connections, conversations, and sharing in the way we work on this hack, we would aim to create the conditions that lead to these opportunities.

4. Should a pilot lead to further possibilities of launching, providing, and/or scaling this service, the outcomes could be very substantial—in terms of material distribution and redirection of resources, including bringing new money into the system that may not otherwise have been distributed, and in terms of reaching, resourcing, and sustaining many more grassroots groups and changemakers.