Jean Case never expected some things to play out this way: She never expected to be part of the best performing stock of the 1990s (America on Line), to becoming a philanthropist, or to commit to giving all of her and her husband’s – he being Steve Case, founder of America on Line – wealth away.
They created the Jean & Steve Case Foundation in 1997, where she serves as CEO. Afterwards, they joined “The Giving Pledge,” started by Melinda and Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010. The Cases were named as one of the “25 best givers” by Barron’s. She also serves as Chairman of the Board of National Geographic, which enjoys a $1.3 billion endowment.
She explains why the Case Foundation’s goal is to “invest in people and ideas that can change the world.” She point to the very surprising statistics on start-ups and venture funding: only 10% of start-ups had female founder, and only 1% had African American; 78% of Venture Capital went to just three places: New York, Massachusetts and California.
Some of her favorite books are referenced here.
You can stream/download the full conversation, including the podcast extras, on Bloomberg, iTunes, Overcast, and Soundcloud. Our earlier podcasts can all be found on iTunes, Soundcloud, Overcast and Bloomberg.
Next week,we speak with Greg Sands, founder of Costanoa Ventures. Sands was the first product manager at Netscape Communications, where he wrote the initial business plan and coined the name “Netscape.”
