Once upon a time, big philanthropy worked like this: After decades of building a great fortune (because it used to take decades), a titan of industry would create a major foundation late in life and, not long after, would pass from the scene — leaving his money to be given away by professional staff.
Andrew Carnegie set up the Carnegie Corporation in 1911. He was dead eight years later. Henry Ford, and his son Edsel, set up the Ford Foundation in 1936. Edsel was dead seven years later; Henry was dead 11 years later, and the Ford Foundation was famously hijacked by its professional staff.
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