From Ultra Wealthy to Ultra Donors

A five-car pileup would hardly grab headlines worldwide. However, one involving a $400,000 Bentley Azure, a $120,000 Mercedes S Class, a $230,000 Ferrari F430, a $230,000 Aston Martin Rapide and $130,000 Porsche 911 certainly did in July 2011. News of this $1.2 million accident across from Palace de Casino in Monaco was splashed across websites and newspapers globally as the world’s most expensive car crash.

That serves as an indication of how different the ultra-wealthy are. While policymakers are scrambling to prevent Europe’s debt crisis from worsening and governments are bracing for a global slowdown as a result of the U.S. economic stagnation, the super-rich are still cruising along the streets of Monaco in high-end luxury cars. Indeed, studies have shown that when the going gets tough, the ultra-affluent in society can continue to be ultra-spenders and ultra-givers. For those of us in fundraising, the challenge is to identify those individuals and to determine how to unlock that potential.