Mike Moritz Explains Philanthropy

A few days back, I took Mike to task for spreading trash on the internet, while his illustrious colleagues John Doerr and Bill Gates are trying to address important global issues.

Here’s an interesting interview in The Guardian, where he explains his (and Sequoia’s) philosophy of doing good:

He maintains that Sequoia is a force for good in society. Although the firm refuses to name any of its investors, Moritz says it shuns big pension funds as clients in favour of universities, charitable trusts and foundations that will use returns for good deeds. “The clients we pick, on the whole, are not for profit,” he says. “There are places where we can make a difference. A $20m return to a university allows it to put up a new building, pay the stipends for a whole bunch of professors or fund scholarships.

For some of our clients engaged in good deeds elsewhere, it pays for desalination plants in Africa or fuel workers in India. It doesn’t pay the pension money for some entitled state worker who’s only worked 30 hours a week for his whole life.”

Okay, Mike. I buy that. Thanks for the explanation!

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