The $1.6 Trillion Moonshot: Why Philanthropy Is America’s Ultimate Strategic Weapon
America’s philanthropists have always been the architects of the impossible. When the world needed to eradicate polio, American foundations led the charge. When the Global South faced starvation, the Rockefeller Foundation sparked the Green Revolution, saving a billion lives. Today, with $1.6 trillion in assets—a sum larger than the GDP of most nations—American philanthropy remains the most powerful engine of social innovation on the planet.
From the arts to climate change, this sector has proven it can move mountains. But as the world’s leaders gathered in Davos this January to discuss the “Intelligent Age,” it became clear there is one mountain American philanthropy has refused to climb. Despite extraordinary privilege—capital forged in the engine of American enterprise and sheltered by a tax code that encourages intergenerational wealth—these institutions remain largely absent from the defining contest of our age: the preservation of the free world’s technological and industrial base.
While philanthropists are busy polishing the spires of democracy—civil rights, education and the arts—they are neglecting the foundation required to keep the structure standing. A new report from Future Union reveals a stunning disconnect: the nation’s 100 largest foundations have poured billions into admirable causes yet are nearly entirely absent from the structural pillars of America’s hard-power fight for survival—cybersecurity, supply chains and defense technology—that remain overlooked and unfunded. This is not a criticism of their generosity; it is a challenge to their ambition.
America’s philanthropic elite possess the capital, the independence and the visionary DNA to solve the greatest challenge of our time: the Great Power Competition. But right now, they are leaving their most potent weapon on the table.
The Power of the Purse
To understand the potential, we must recognize what American philanthropy actually is: a decentralized sovereign wealth fund. Nations like Norway and China use centralized state funds to secure their strategic futures. America does something different. We rely on a diverse patchwork of pensions ($39 trillion), university endowments ($800 billion) and private foundations ($1.6 trillion). This capital is our “secret weapon.” It is agile, it is massive, and—unlike government money—it can take risks on long-term moonshots without worrying about the next election cycle.
Imagine if the same philanthropic genius that tackled malaria or climate change were applied to National Security Investing (NSI).
- The Impact: Philanthropy could de-risk early-stage technologies that the Pentagon is too slow to buy, while many VCs remain wary, scared to touch advanced materials, quantum encryption, critical minerals and resilient manufacturing.
- The Leverage: A single grant from a major foundation can validate a sector, signaling to the wider market that a technology is vital, viable and virtuous. Not merely to society but to the other global Davos leaders, and philanthropies, reluctant to assume such leadership—and backlash—among many socially-driven, left-leaning, elite peers.
The Missing Link
The tragedy is not that foundations are doing “bad” work; it is that they are ignoring the condition precedent for all their good work. The economic battles of the last decade have made one thing clear: if the U.S. loses the global technology battle outlined in “Made in China 2025” manifesto, ideals like diversity and democracy will vanish under authoritarian suppression.
History teaches us that liberal values are neither natural laws nor inevitable; they are choices built on infrastructure secured by technological dominance. The soaring aspirations of our age—from a cleaner planet to a fairer digital world—defy the gravity of history only because they are braced by the steel of American industrial strength. But today, that steel is corroding.
Make no mistake: if we lose the industrial edge that underwrites this anomaly, the era ends. To ignore the race for A.I. or the security of our supply chains is to erode the very bedrock of the free world. If we lose the technological and industrial supremacy that braces this order, we won’t be debating the nuances of equity anymore; we’ll be adapting to the rules of a competitor that actively suppresses them.
Currently, the data shows a dangerous irony. While American foundations champion “justice” and “sustainability,” many of their endowments are quietly invested in Chinese venture capital funds. We are effectively using tax-advantaged American dollars to subsidize the innovation ecosystem of our primary adversary.
We are funding the very forces that seek to dismantle the world order we built.
A New Frontier for Impact
It is time for a new vision of philanthropic duty—one that is bold, patriotic, and unapologetically strategic. We do not need philanthropists to stop funding the arts or education. We need them to expand their definition of “social good” to include national survival.
- Innovate for Resilience: Foundations should treat National Security Investing as a new asset class. Just as they embraced “Impact Investing” a decade ago, they must now embrace nation-state resilience.
- The Plus-1 Percent Pledge: If foundations allocated just 1 percent of their annual payout—above their standard 5 percent requirement—exclusively to technologies that protect American sovereignty, it would unlock billions in strategic capital overnight.
- Demand Alignment: Donors must demand that their endowments stop betting against America. Divesting from adversary technology is not just good strategy; it is a moral baseline.
The history of American philanthropy is defined by leaders who saw the future and built it. The Carnegies, the Fords, and the Gates did not just write checks; they shaped civilization.
The next great chapter of American history will be written by the philanthropists who realize that freedom is the ultimate noble cause. The arsenal is ready. The capital is available. All that is missing is the will to use it. It is time for philanthropy to be the beacon for a new generation that cares deeply and believes in America’s potential. It is time for philanthropy to step into the spotlight, not just as a benefactor of the past, but as the guarantor of the future.