An inside look at the secretive world of top notch philanthropists–and how they’re quietly wielding a lot more power to shape American life with techniques both good and bad.

While press attention focuses on famous philanthropists such as for example Costs Gates and Charles Koch, thousands of donors are at function below the radar promoting an array of causes. David Callahan graphs the rise of the brand-new power players as well as the ways these are transforming the fortunes of a second Gilded Age group into influence. He displays how this elite works behind the scenes on education, the environment, science, LGBT privileges, and many other issues–with deep impact on federal government policy. Above all, he implies that the influence of the Givers is just beginning, as new waves of billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg turn to philanthropy. Predicated on intensive study and interviews with countless donors and policy experts, this isn’t a brief for or against the Givers, but a fascinating investigation of a power change in American society that has implications for us all.