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Tech Billionaires Are Changing Philanthropy

Number 4 and 5 on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of the top 50 American donors in 2014 are 38-year-old WhatsApp founder  Jan Koum and 35-year-old  Sean Parker who founded Napster and was president of Facebook. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Number 4 and 5 on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of the top 50 American donors in 2014 are 38-year-old WhatsApp founder Jan Koum and 35-year-old Sean Parker who founded Napster and was president of Facebook. (Chronicle of Philanthropy)

Young Silicon Valley billionaires are changing the face of big philanthropy today. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has released its list of the top 50 donors for 2014, and the tech industry is responsible for nearly half the money donated by that group. Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd talks with Jill Schlesinger of CBS News about how these young donors differ from the philanthropists of the past.

  • See the list of the 50 top American philanthropists in 2014
  • Read more about young tech donors taking the lead
  • Guest

  • Jill Schlesinger, CBS News business analyst. She tweets @jillonthemoney.
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