Jean Sung has spent over 20 years inside the rooms where Asia's wealthiest families decide what to do with their money.

Head of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation across 13 countries. Founder of J.P. Morgan Private Bank's Philanthropy Centre in Asia. Two decades of sitting across from ultra-high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational family offices, and some of the most powerful philanthropists on the planet.

And after all of it, her conclusion is uncomfortable.

Most of what we call charity isn't working.

Not because people don't care. But because the entire system was built on the wrong foundation. Donations that feel good. Band-aid solutions that never touch the root of the problem. Nonprofits running on passion with no performance metrics, no accountability, and no path to scale. Wealthy donors writing the same check to the same 20 organizations year after year and calling it impact.

What she's calling for is a complete restructuring of how philanthropy is practiced in Asia and beyond. Stop treating giving like charity. Start treating it like investment. Same rigor. Same accountability. Same demand for return. Because if you don't do well, you cannot do good.

The conversation goes deep on the gap between intention and action, why Asian philanthropic giving is vastly underestimated and almost entirely invisible, how the now generation of wealthy families is finally starting to deploy capital the right way, and why the world needs fewer think tanks and a lot more do tanks.

This is one of the most honest, challenging, and clear-eyed conversations I have had on this show.

I hope it changes how you think about giving.

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Guest — Jean Sung: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-k-sung-312b3338/


Jean Sung is the Executive Director and Head of The Philanthropy Centre, J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Asia Pacific. She founded the Philanthropy Centre for J.P. Morgan's private banking arm after spending eight years managing the JPMorgan Chase Foundation's corporate giving across 13 Asian countries. With two decades of experience advising ultra-high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational family offices, and global philanthropists, Jean is one of the most experienced and respected voices in strategic philanthropy in Asia. She serves on the boards of the Bai Xian Asia Institute, LinkREIT's Sustainability Committee, the McCain Global Leaders Advisory Council, and the UWCSEA Foundation, among others.


(00:00:00) The "Now Gen" and Why Jean Hates the Term Next Gen
(00:01:25) 20 Years, 13 Countries: Jean's Journey at JPMorgan
(00:03:45) Why People Give and Why That Needs to Change
(00:06:36) Band-Aid Solutions and the Mattress Story
(00:09:34) What Communities Actually Need vs. What Donors Think They Need
(00:14:57) How Jean Got the Job Running the JPMorgan Chase Foundation
(00:16:41) Rethinking Grants: From Finite Donations to Sustainable Investment
(00:24:38) What Do You Want Your Dash to Mean
(00:27:33) Why Your Foundation and Your Investment Portfolio Should Talk to Each Other
(00:38:11) Hands Up Not Handouts: The Danger of Dependency
(00:47:56) How Asian Families Think About Wealth, Succession, and Giving
(00:54:57) Think Tanks vs Do Tanks: The Gap Between Intention and Action