Beware of Billionaires Bearing Gifts

Are universities hedge funds? Is knowledge political? What do you think? Join host, Meilin Obinata, for a discussion with Max Sárosi, an organizer of of the Jews Against White Supremacy (JAWS) chapter at UCSC. Sárosi has studied how billionaire philanthropy impacts the University of California, including UC Santa Cruz. What secrets lurk in the gifts of real estate billionaires? Along the way, we learn about how Max’s identity evolved as he searched for what it means to be Jewish while studying in the Critical Race and Ethnic Studies program at UCSC and what led him to found the JAWS chapter there. We touched on the reasons and ways in which JAWS has demanded UCSC cut ties with the Helen Diller Foundation. Max frames the activity of the foundation in the context of billionaire philanthropy and specifically within related industry – real estate and the connections to the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. This show originally aired on Tuesday, February 25, 2025. You can follow Jews Against White Supremacy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jawsucsc/