Billionaires build new "benevolent aristocracy"

If charity is giving alms to the needy, then philanthropy is charity's more high-minded and strategic relation.

The big picture: Philanthropists don't want to give a man a fish; instead they want to take credit for building a proof-of-concept that will persuade governments around the world to invest in large-scale programs of fishing pedagogy.

As Michael Bloomberg puts it: “It’s philanthropy’s job to take risks — and government’s job to scale solutions.”