Getting Rich Giving Back: The 275% Return on Investment

If I were to tell you that I had an investment that could yield you a 275% return, you would most likely be inclined to believe that I was running a scam of some sort. Contrary to that belief, there is indeed a scientifically-proven opportunity to always have a return on investment with a likely return of at least three times that investment. Giving, an activity that we often associate with losing something, actually creates wealth.

Getting rich by giving back sounds more like a pipe dream than reality, yet sociologists and economists have proven that giving does indeed reward the giver. Brent Simpson and Robb Willer, sociology professors, have determined that giving to others most often results in delayed rewards to the giver. Although the timing of the reward may not be clear, the giver will definitely experience a reward at some point from either his or her recipient or someone else.

Economist Arthur Brooks defines the return for the giver more distinctly. In an attempt to disprove that giving created any tangible benefits outside the “afterglow” that donors feel, Brooks studied more than 30,000 American families and determined that families contributing $100 increased their income by $375. He repeated the results with volunteer hours and giving blood and found similar results. Giving actually created wealth!

Giving also creates revenue for companies. Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (formerly the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, a group founded by the late actor Paul Newman) found in its Giving in Numbers: 2025 Edition that purpose-aligned companies reported 25% higher revenue and 22% higher pre-tax profit than those without a stated purpose. Even more striking, companies with metrics aligning business practices to their purpose saw a 31% increase in median pre-tax profit in a single year — compared to just 3% for companies without such metrics. Giving does not decrease dividends for shareholders. It increases them.

Modern givers have produced equally remarkable results. In 2006, Warren Buffett pledged the majority of his Berkshire Hathaway fortune — ultimately tens of billions of dollars — to the Gates Foundation and family foundations. Far from diminishing his wealth, Berkshire Hathaway compounded at 19.8% annually between 1965 and 2023, nearly double the S&P 500’s 10.2% over the same period. Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, built giving into the company’s DNA from the beginning, pledging 1% of sales to environmental causes for decades before making the most dramatic philanthropic move in modern business history in 2022. He transferred the entire company, valued at approximately $3 billion, to a trust and nonprofit whose sole purpose is to protect the planet. Patagonia’s brand and revenue have only grown stronger in the years since.

While these studies are compelling, many wealthy individuals and institutions have understood this principle for years. The Vanderbilt family has long engaged in philanthropy, with “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt founding Vanderbilt University with a million dollar gift. Despite generous gifts by both the Commodore and his son Billy, the family’s wealth continued to increase. John D. Rockefeller also attributed much of his success in business and subsequent wealth to his commitment to tithing 10% of his income to the church.

In her 1995 book Why the Wealthy Give, Francie Ostrower confirmed via more than 100 interviews with high net-worth New York donors that giving was indeed an obligation of being wealthy, which further creates the idea that giving is another form of investing and creating wealth. In addition to creating wealth, researchers Griskevicus, Kafashan, Sparks, and Barclay have also determined that giving elevates one’s status socially. In other words, giving back not only makes you richer, it also makes people want to associate with you.

While unusually high returns on investments may seem to indicate a volatile or risky market especially now, giving back to charity is a sure thing that will not only help others but also make you a little bit richer in the process!

The Fullanthropy Perspective: Giving Is Not the Opposite of Wealth

The traditional assumption is that wealth is built by keeping and multiplying what you have; hoarding it as it were. Arthur Brooks, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Warren Buffett, and Yvon Chouinard counter that anecdotal wisdom with definitive data. Giving, done with intention and strategy, does not diminish wealth. It measurably increases wealth.

Fullanthropy helps donors make the most of their giving investment, so that their own wealth magnifies and the transformational impact they create endures.

Ready to give fullanthropically? make The Call.