Blockbuster I.P.O.s Are Creating New Millionaires. Philanthropies Want a Cut.

As a series of blockbuster I.P.O.s mint a new crop of the ultrawealthy, nonprofits are scrambling to figure out how they can share in the bonanza.

University fund-raising departments are making lists of potential white whales and philanthropy executives are doing napkin math to prepare for a once-in-a-generation windfall that could create hundreds of billions of dollars in new donations.

Some are less optimistic than others. In recent years, a billionaire backlash against charitable giving has emerged, as a subset of the wealthiest people in the world argue that business success, not philanthropy, is the best way to give back.

But the founders of OpenAI and Anthropic — both expected to be among the largest I.P.O.s of all time — have deep links to effective altruism, a philanthropic philosophy that seeks to maximize the impact of giving.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/business/dealbook/spacex-anthropic-philanthropy.html