Extreme Wealth – Episode 7: Chuck Collins and the Burdens of Dynastic Wealth
Release Date: 11/06/2024
Oliver Bullough at the TRACE London Forum
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Speaking at the 2022 TRACE London Forum, Oliver Bullough, author of Butler to the World, discusses the UK’s role as an enabler of financial crime, efforts toward accountability, the balance between transparency and privacy, and the weaponization of lawsuits in British courts to silence journalists. This episode was originally published on 26 October 2022.
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Corruption, Sanctions and Putin's War Regime
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This is a powerful session from the 2022 TRACE London Forum featuring Leonid Volkov, former Chief of Staff to Alexei Navalny and Political Director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF). Leonid discusses the role of corruption in Putin’s Russia as well as the impact of sanctions and the toll that rampant corruption is taking on Russia. This episode was originally published on 5 October 2022.
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“Why They Do It”
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Eugene Soltes describes his fascinating research into what motivates white collar criminals and how distance from their victims makes it easier.
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Effective Compliance Training
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Karen Benson, Associate VP and Assistant Chief Compliance Officer with Royal Caribbean Cruises, shares a broad range of tips on how to build a targeted, innovative training program that keeps employs interested and engaged.
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DEI Progress and Setbacks: What Compliance Professionals Need to Know
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This week’s podcast features an excellent presentation by Misti Mukherjee, founder and managing member of Extensio Law. Misti addresses the shifting field of diversity, equity and inclusion—including recent changes to the law—and emphasizes the critical importance of this work alongside the need to approach it with intentionality and discipline. This episode was originally published on 5 August 2024.
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How Companies Get Caught
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Chuck Duross, partner with Morrison Foerster and former head of the DOJ’s FCPA unit, discusses lures, stings, wiretaps and INTERPOL Red Notices.
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The Unaoil Story
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Nick McKenzie tells the exciting story of his role in the investigation into Unaoil.
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Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World
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Author, academic and former compliance professional, Alison Taylor joins the podcast to talk about her compelling book, "Higher Ground". She describes the contradictions inherent in companies that talk about “doing well by doing good” and explains why corporate reputation management can’t be an end in itself and how trying to do less can be the best strategy. “You don’t have to join every conversation”. This episode was originally published on 14 February 2024.
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Diana Henriques on Reputation Laundering
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Diana Henriques, award-winning journalist and author, discusses the traits of fraudsters and the menace of reputation laundering. This episode was originally published on 3 August 2024.
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Promoting Facts and Countering Disinformation
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Melissa Goldin, a NY-based News Verification Reporter and Editor with The Associated Press analyzes and debunks fake news. This episode was originally published on 24 July 2024.
info_outlineIn his mid-20s, Chuck Collins made a fateful choice. The great-grandson of Oscar Meyer, and thus an heir to part of the meatpacker’s family fortune, Chuck was skeptical of the riches (some $500,000 in 1986 dollars). He didn’t want to perpetuate the imbalances he saw dynastic wealth creating in society. Rather than live off the interest, or to give a portion to charity, Chuck gave away the entire inheritance, and thus embarked on a most unusual sort of normal life.
In this episode, Chuck explains what reverberations his decision to give away his inheritance had on his family and in his career, and he lays out his case to other similarly privileged Americans: Why life is better without the insulation that great wealth provides, and how billionaires can rejoin American life.
Chuck Collins is the director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he edits Inequality.org. He is also a founding member of Patriotic Millionaires, a group of high-net-worth Americans who advocate for public policies — including higher taxes on the wealthy — meant to rein in the political power of the richest Americans. His prolific writings focus on inequality, the racial wealth divide, philanthropy, the climate crisis, and billionaire wealth dynasties. His forthcoming book "Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power and Ruining Our Lives and Planet" will be published in 2025.