Editor’s Letter

Over the years, my list has included everything from destinations, authors and artists to tailors, meals (a magnificent eggplant pasta in Sardinia springs to mind) and designers. But it can also, of course, be deeper than an object or a fleeting experience; on occasion it’s as profound as a cause or charity that becomes a lifetime’s commitment.

In this annual genuinely extraordinary opportunities to own or take part in something unique and spectacular (more on that shortly), and on philanthropy. In the US, charitable giving rose nearly 4 percent in 2020, to a total of $471.44 billion. That’s proof of the trend for more aggressive spending, in recognition of the challenges we’re currently facing on multiple fronts, be they Covid-19, America’s racial reckoning or increasingly devastating climate change. In our portfolio spotlighting some of those leading this charge toward donating huge sums now, rather than leaving the funds to a foundation to divest later (p. 191), we interviewed philanthropists and executives who are intent, as writer Jackie Cooperman reports, “to effect change, and to do it quickly.”