WEALTHY AND WHITE

Mitzen discusses the implications of racial privilege and the importance of giving back in this nonfiction work.

With more than $250 million in annual revenue, The Fingerpaint Group, a marketing firm founded by the author, made him and his wife, Lisa, “wealthier than we ever dreamed.” Indeed, when he sold the company in his early 50s, he declared that they would “never have to work again.” Inspired by the example of Andrew Carnegie, who invested vast sums of his wealth into communities across the nation in the early 20th century, the Mitzens soon thereafter founded the nonprofit Business for Good (BFG) to use their “business-building skills to help others.” This book, the author’s second work centered on the intersection of business and charity, is written “for wealthy white people” and includes anecdotes from BFG as a guide for other would-be philanthropists. Openly admitting that he and his wife “had no idea” what they were getting into, a central theme of the book is the author’s coming to terms with his own racial privilege. While careful not to “shame or guilt” successful white readers (“You worked hard for your wealth; enjoy it”), Mitzen acknowledges that white men have “a leg up on everyone.” The same “laws and customs” that created an environment for white entrepreneurs to thrive, he notes, are part of the very same system that closes doors to others. With a keen sense of the history and legacy of racism in America, the book also contextualizes economic inequalities, describing, for example, how Black wealth in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was stolen in the 1921 massacre. Written in an authentic, conversational style that leans heavily into four-letter swear words, this is a solid introduction to systemic racism for skeptical, affluent white readers. The book provides ample examples (accompanied by photographs) of how BFG combined business acumen with solution–driven approaches that extended well beyond simply “writing checks to worthy nonprofits and watching passively.”

An engaging reexamination of 21st century philanthropy.