Show notes
AJ is back, and she brought senior planner Melanie Taylor along for a special episode that has absolutely nothing to do with markets, IPOs, or interest rates and everything to do with books, billionaires, and Dolly Parton. AJ and Melanie kick things off with their summer reading lists, trading recommendations on everything from Lonesome Dove and The Historian to Dungeon Crawler Carl and Lena Dunham's memoir Fame Sick. They also dig into the If Books Could Kill podcast and the story of Three Cups of Tea, a book that turned out to be less about building schools in Pakistan and more about a very creative money laundering operation. Then it gets a little more serious. AJ pulls the Forbes list of America's most generous philanthropists, and the numbers are not flattering. Charitable giving rose 14% last year, but billionaire fortunes rose 18.5%, meaning the giving is not keeping pace. They also celebrate the life and legacy of Dolly Parton, who died on August 25th at 80 years old and somehow managed to give more meaningfully on a $450 million fortune than most billionaires do with hundreds of billions. They close with a conversation about Trump accounts, donor-advised funds, and how Brooklyn Fi matched employee donations to the Imagination Library in Dolly's honor. Topics covered: Summer reading lists: Lonesome Dove, The Historian, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Fame Sick, and more The If Books Could Kill podcast and why Three Cups of Tea was a grift AJ's book Creative Money is coming out on November 10th Forbes list of America's most generous philanthropists and why the numbers are embarrassing Why donor-advised funds create a bottleneck between billionaire giving and the people who need it Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and the economics of her philanthropy Trump accounts: should you open one and should you contribute? Brooklyn Fi matches team member donations to the Imagination Library in Dolly's honor Timestamps: 00:00 Intro, welcome Melanie Taylor, and saving episode 200 for Shane and AJ together 01:30 Melanie's summer reads: Dungeon Crawler Carl and Heart the Lover by Lily King 04:00 AJ's summer reads: Lonesome Dove, The Historian, Fame Sick, and London Falling 07:30 Books they DNF'd this summer and the art of abandoning a book 10:00 If Books Could Kill podcast and the Three Cups of Tea money laundering grift 15:30 AJ's book Creative Money is coming out on November 10th 18:30 Forbes list of America's most generous philanthropists and the numbers that don't add up 21:00 Why donor-advised funds create a bottleneck and the Yale endowment problem 24:00 Rest in peace, Dolly Parton, and the economics of her Imagination Library 27:30 Trump accounts: open them, grab the match, but maybe stick with your 529 🔔 Subscribe to The Liquidity Event on YouTube: YouTube Channel 🌐 Learn more about Brooklyn FI financial planning: brooklynfi.com ✍️ Leave us a voicemail question for a future episode: memo.fm/theliquidityevent 📱 Follow Brooklyn FI: LinkedIn: / brooklyn-fi Instagram: / brooklyn_f.i