social welfare research institute - Boston College

• And finally, we studied reports on the new economy and on high-tech business to
learn about the business experience of our interviewees, discover the kinds of
environments they are used to working in, and the approaches and skills which are
crucial to their success and which they might be bringing to bear on their
philanthropy.
We provide a comprehensive review of these sources here to establish for our
readers the context of the research and to provide an introduction to some of its themes.
In addition, the bibliography lists other resources which we do not present here, but
which may be useful for those readers who wish to learn more.
Media Reports
We began the research with a review of media articles on “venture” and “new”
philanthropy. Our own awareness of the theme in popular culture had come most
arrestingly from the frequent phone calls we received from journalists asking us to
comment on “sudden affluence syndrome,” “cyberstinginess,” and other purported
afflictions of young wealthy, and in particular high-tech wealth holders. From a review
of articles in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and
other national newspapers; financial publications such as Fortune, Forbes, and Worth; as
well as magazines such as Wired and Fast Company, which grew up with the high-tech
boom, it became clear as one commentator put it, that high-tech wealth holders are “the
new celebrities and rock stars” (Prince and Grove 4) and receive the same levels of
adulation and attack.
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