About George Kaiser
George Kaiser, chairman of BOK Financial and Kaiser-Francis Oil, has described his motivation for philanthropy as "largely guilt," stating that he gained advantages from being born into an advanced society with loving parents. He has said that he is "responsible neither for my genetics nor for my nurturing" and that the "purest form of charity" is to give all children an equal opportunity at birth. Kaiser has stated that the mantra of his foundation is that "no newborn child bears any responsibility for the circumstances of his or her birth" and that a child's future being heavily dependent on those circumstances "just seems fundamentally unfair."
Kaiser has been a prominent advocate for early childhood education, particularly for children from birth to age three, which he has called "the most important" intervention. He has argued that such programs are "a moral imperative and a sound investment," citing evidence that they reduce correctional system costs and improve educational attainment. He has also been the visionary behind the Gathering Place park in Tulsa, which he said was intended to be "transformational for the city" and to restore a "sense of community." Kaiser has stated that his foundation aims to be "proactive in creating and expanding programs" and that he is "disturbed by inequality" in American society, preferring to "bring up the have-nots" rather than "knocking down the haves."
Source: AI-verified profile updated from George Kaiser's recent appearances.
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Transcript (5 segments)
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Narrator0:11
Promise to give at least half of their fortunes away to charity. One of the early signers was George Kaiser, possibly the most modest billionaire in the world.
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George Kaiser0:20
My motivation for philanthropy was largely guilt, because I realized that I gained advantages by being born in an advanced society with loving parents. If I had not been born in an advanced society with loving parents, I may not have had the opportunity to accomplish what I did. I'm responsible neither for my genetics nor for my nurturing, so I focused my philanthropy less on my historical or life experiences than on what I... yet his or her future is heavily dependent upon those circumstances, and that just seems fundamentally unfair. It also violates a basic principle of the reason that we separated our democracy from your democracy 250 years ago, which is equal opportunity, which is a diminishing commodity in the United States today. Now, short of declaring independence again, what does that mean in practice? It means heavily a birth-to-three early childhood education, it means parenting training, it means prenatal and postnatal and family health care, it means... I mentioned the incarceration of women who are convicted of nonviolent crimes.
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Interviewer2:11
Do you think business people, finance people, entrepreneurs—like which of those categories are likely to make the best philanthropists?
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George Kaiser2:24
I think entrepreneurs more than business people, if you're distinguishing a large corporation executives, because entrepreneurs are willing to try unusual, unique, novel solutions, experiment, make mistakes, make corrections. They're probably a little less embarrassed by failure, because if you want to rise in a major corporation, you really have to have a high batting average. It's not how much you attempt, it's how much you succeed.
We all think we're pretty good analysts. We think we can evaluate what's likely to work. In social intervention, in social program intervention, only a very small proportion of attempts work, and it's quite frustrating because it sounds good, it intellectually should work, and it doesn't. The key is really tackling and blocking, to use a uniquely American term, or implementation rather than the perfectly designed program.
