2023 Summit Participants include Matt Damon, Adam Silver, Stephen Ross, Sheila Johnson, Steve Forbes, Wyc Grousbeck, Laurie Tisch and more
Jim and Marilyn Simons were presented the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy
Dikembe Mutombo was presented with the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship
NEW YORK– September 22, 2023 – The 11th annual Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy, which took place yesterday in New York City, brought together over 100 of the world’s leading philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and business leaders for critical conversations centered on giving more effectively, and more urgently.
This year’s gathering focused on the theme of “Contrarian Thinking: Unconventional Solutions At Scale”—a concept which Forbes celebrates and espouses. Leveraging their resources, experience and results-driven mindset, the invitation-only event provides a platform for the world’s most philanthropic leaders to share actionable and innovative solutions to drive systemic change around the world.
“Since 2012, we’ve quietly been bringing together the world’s most successful people and greatest problem-solvers into a private space to share lessons and models that boost philanthropic efficacy, facilitate collaborations and start conversations on entrepreneurial tactics to solve the world’s toughest problems,” said Randall Lane, Chief Content Officer, Forbes, and the founder of the Forbes Philanthropy Summit. “The time is ripe for impactful ideas and long-term solutions. That’s the reason we host this event: to convene some of the most successful people in the world and ask them to use their big brains and hearts to solve these major problems today versus waiting for the future.”
Matt Damon and Gary White, the cofounders of Water.org and WaterEquity—and past Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship— kicked off the summit to address the key to solving so many of our most urgent global challenges: affordable capital. Matt and Gary spoke about how 30 years of impactful solutions, in 18 countries, may offer a replicable roadmap for all of us.
The summit also featured panel discussions and fireside chats centered around solving the world’s most intractable problems, how this group can inspire each other and collaborate with one another to untangle those challenges more quickly and more efficiently, how do parents and grandparents hand the reins to the next generation in order to maintain sustainable, long-term philanthropic models with the greatest impact, and more. Summit participants included Sheila Johnson, Founder and CEO, Salamander Collection; Wyc Grousbeck, Owner and CEO, Boston Celtics; Stephen Ross, Chairman, Related Companies; Laurie Tisch, Founder and President, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund; and more.
Adam Silver, Commissioner, NBA, accepted the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship on Dikembe Mutombo’s behalf. Dikembe was honored for all of his efforts in giving back as both an Ambassador and as the Chairman and President of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation which is aimed at improving the health, education and quality of life for the people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Previous recipients of the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship include: Muhammad Yunus (2013), Wendy Kopp (2014), Paul Farmer (2015), Jacqueline Novogratz (2016), Matt Damon & Gary White (2017), Alice Waters (2018), Dr. Jane Goodall (2019) and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (2022).
Jim Simons and his wife Marilyn Hawrys Simons, Cofounders and Co-Chairs of Simons Foundation, were presented by Steve Forbes with the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy for their work in advancing new frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences through a dual approach of grants and in-house research.
Previous recipients of the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy include: Warren Buffett (2013), Chuck Feeney (2014), Bill and Melinda Gates (2015), Ted Turner (2016), Eli Broad (2017), David Rockefeller (2018), Paul Allen (2019), and Sandy and Joan Weill (2022).
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