Latest news with #MostPowerfulWomenSummit
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Philanthropy CEO: Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who think they can cure poverty are a red flag
Jacqueline Novogratz, founder and CEO of Acumen, says she is wary of philanthropy entrepreneurs who think they can cure poverty using a Silicon Valley model. 'The biggest point of failure when we're looking at entrepreneurs … is they come in thinking they have this solution,' Novogratz said at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Riyadh. 'That, for me, is a big red flag.' Acumen, has invested $260 million in 215 portfolio companies that provide affordable education, health care, clean water, energy, and sanitation. It's not just billionaires like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos who are giving away their wealth to those more in need. Entrepreneurs and wealthy Gen Zers are also getting in on the action—often from the comfort of their cushy abodes. For ex-Wall Street analyst-turned-philanthropy CEO Jacqueline Novogratz, that's a big red flag. 'I think the biggest point of failure when we're looking at entrepreneurs—and remember, these are entrepreneurs that are solving problems of poverty, like people who often have, not only know very little income, but very little confidence—is they come in thinking they have this solution,' Novogratz said at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Riyadh. She is the founder and CEO of Acumen. 'That, for me, is a big red flag.' 'If you haven't immersed, gotten close, and understood the problem from the perspective of the people that you are there to serve, game over.' The 64-year-old American entrepreneur, author, and pioneering figure in social impact investing, added that young people who think 'I really want to have purpose and build a business that's going to make change,' but look to Silicon Valley for their models, is another cause for concern. Under her leadership, the nonprofit capital venture, Acumen, has invested $260 million in 215 portfolio companies around the world. These companies have brought basic services like affordable education, health care, clean water, energy, and sanitation to more than 648 million people. Novogratz said on stage that many privileged young people who've 'never operated anything in their lives' ask her how they too can become impact investors. 'What I tell them is to go work in operating companies, we have 2000 of them across the world,' she advised. 'They're in rural areas. You're not going to get paid anything.' 'What it means to work on the line, actually go into villages, to work in a place where you don't speak the language, you might actually contribute to something. You'll be forever changed.' Novogratz's work began in 1986 when she quit her analyst job at Chase Manhattan Bank on Wall Street to venture into the world of philanthropy. She started out working across Africa as a consultant for the World Bank and UNICEF, where she helped found Rwanda's first microfinance institution, Duterimbere, at just 25 years old. 'One of the greatest gifts of my life was getting to live in Africa when I was very young.' 'Get the little things right,' Shamina Singh, founder and president of Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, also said on stage. 'People tend to focus on maybe a big picture of a Silicon Valley company. But the thing is, also focus on the details.' 'When people say no, I just say no to their no,' Emon Shakoor, founder and CEO of Blossom Accelerator, said. 'There's a saying in Arabic, which means between me and you is just time. When I first started out, people would say no, I was like, I am going to come back, you're going to say yes, between me and you is this time. So I think it's just having that grit.' This story was originally featured on
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Warren Buffett shares wisdom on finding a partner for life, says 'If you want a lasting marriage...'
Warren Buffett is acclaimed for his financial savvy—and his success as a self-made billionaire. While enduring on paper from 1952 until she died in 2004, Buffett's marriage to Susan Thompson was anything but conventional. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack Inside Operation Tupac: Pakistan's secret project to burn Kashmir Who is Asim Munir, the Zia-style general shaping Pakistan's faith-driven military revival 'Looking for partners, not preachers': India's strong message for EU amid LoC tensions And when the veteran investor first met Astrid in the 1970s, he was still married to his first wife, the late Susan Thompson Buffett. In a 2017 conversation with Bill Gates, Buffett credited his choice of spouse with making him successful. Warren Buffett shares wisdom on a lasting marriage 'You want to associate with people who are the kind of person you'd like to be. You'll move in that direction,' Buffett said. 'And the most important person by far in that respect is your spouse. I can't overemphasize how important that is.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses Indonesia (Take A Look At The Prices) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo ALSO READ: Warren Buffett's lifestyle at 94 will surprise you: Five cans of coke, Mcdonald's meal and no gym And his key to finding the right person to marry has little to do with beauty, character, or a sense of humor. Live Events 'If you want a marriage to last, look for someone with low expectations,' Buffett told Fortune at the 2015 Most Powerful Women Summit. Susan's decision to move to San Francisco to pursue a singing career marked a turning point in her relationship with Warren Buffett. Despite the separation, their connection endured, sustained by long phone calls and an unconventional yet mutual understanding of each other's lives. Before leaving, Susan Buffett reportedly reached out to several women she knew from a cocktail bar where she performed, asking them to look after her husband. One of these women was Astrid Menks , a waitress. Susan asked Astrid to help care for Warren, including cooking for him during her absence. ALSO READ: Does Elon Musk regret supporting Donald Trump? Shocking interview moment goes viral Astrid eventually moved in with Warren, and the three developed an unusual yet close bond. Susan and Astrid reportedly became good friends, a relationship reflected in their annual Christmas cards, which were signed, 'Warren, Susie, and Astrid.' Buffett captured the essence of his relationships with both women, stating in his biography, 'Susie put me together, and Astrid keeps me together.' Susan's understanding of Buffett's need for love and absence of criticism played a crucial role in their dynamic. Two years following Susan's death, Buffett married Astrid Menks. Marrying the right person In HBO's 2017 documentary, 'Becoming Warren Buffett,' the investment legend said that he had 'two turning points' in his life: the first was when he came out of the womb and the second was when he met Susan. 'What happened with me would not have happened without her,' Buffett said. ALSO READ: 'You hear me? What I said?': Trump loses temper with reporter in explosive Air Force One confrontation Buffett also emphasized marrying the 'right person,' which he found in Susan. 'Marry the right person. I'm serious about that,' he said during a 2009 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. 'It will make more difference in your life. It will change your aspirations, all kinds of things.' Going against the saying of 'happy wife, happy life,' Buffett approaches both personal and professional relationships with low expectations. 'If you're going to get married and you want a marriage that's going to last,' he said during a university lecture. 'What quality do you look for in a spouse? One quality. Do you look for brains? Do you look for humor? Do you look for character? Do you look for beauty?' 'No,' Buffett said. 'Not necessarily the happiest marriage—or one that Martha Stewart will talk about. You want a marriage that is going to last.'
The Independent
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Cameron Diaz says pre-MeToo movie sets always had ‘that one guy' who was inappropriate
Cameron Diaz has reflected on how much the MeToo movement changed the environment on movie sets after her decade-long break from acting. The Holiday actor took a step back from acting in 2014 for 10 years but has made her return alongside Jamie Foxx in the Netflix movie Back in Action, which sees the pair play former CIA spies who are pulled back into the profession. During Diaz's decade of absence, the entertainment industry was rocked by the #MeToo movement in 2017 following the exposure of numerous sexual abuse allegations against high-profile film producer Harvey Weinstein. Diaz remarked in a new interview with the SkipIntro podcast that she has noticed seismic changes in the industry upon her return to acting – namely the environment cultivated on movie sets. 'The industry is so different,' she said. 'I mean, I definitely have to say that MeToo changed everything.' Diaz remarked that pre-MeToo, she found that there was always that 'one guy' on film production sets who would make women feel uncomfortable. 'You walk on to the set and it is different. There was always just like that one guy, you know, on set, that you were like, 'God, here he comes again.'' 'There were always layers and layers of inappropriateness that you just kind of had to put up with.' Reflecting on returning to set to shoot Back In Action, Diaz said she was shocked when a representative from HR notified her of an anonymous hotline for cast and crew to report any issues of inappropriate behaviour. She said: 'I was like, 'Wow, that's amazing'. The level of security and safety you feel as a woman now on set is great. I had never felt that before this film.' Speaking about the reason why she took a step away from acting, she said during Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit: 'It felt like the right thing for me to reclaim my own life and I just really didn't care about anything else. 'Nobody's opinion, nobody's success, no one's offer, no one's anything could change my mind about my decision of taking care of myself and building the life that I really wanted to have. I think it really comes to, 'What are you passionate about?' For me, it was to build my family.' Diaz is married to Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden, with whom she has two children. Speaking about her return, she revealed she 'couldn't say no' to Foxx's offer. 'He said, 'Come with me.' And I was like, 'OK, let's do it.' It's our third film together.' Diaz previously discussed her decision to semi-retire on an episode of Gwyneth Paltrow 's Goop Health: The Sessions, saying that making movies had started to consume her entire life. The actor said that she 'had gone so hard for so long, working, making films and it's such a grind', adding: 'When you're making a movie, it's a perfect excuse – they own you. You're there for 12 hours a day for months on end and you have no time for anything else.' She remarked that being in the spotlight was 'intense', adding: 'There's a lot of energy coming at you at all times when you're really visible as an actor and doing press and putting yourself out there.' Diaz's big break arrived in 1994 with Jim Carrey's The Mask as the character Tina Carlyle. The actor's other roles, including My Best Friend's Wedding, The Holiday and Shrek, solidified her as one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. She will return to voice Fiona in a fifth Shrek film and has signed up to appear in the dark comedy Outcome, which stars Keanu Reeves and is directed by Jonah Hill.
