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Asian wealth can bridge the SDG financing gap—but philanthropy needs a strategy shift

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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were first envisioned as a global blueprint for equitable growth, environmental sustainability, and social progress. Yet, nearly a decade later, the world is falling behind. The world is on track to meet just 17% of SDG targets. Progress on a third of them has either stalled or reversed.

The funding gap to meet the SDG commitments now stands at $4.2 trillion a year; Asia-Pacific alone will need an additional $1.5 trillion annually to meet its targets.

Where can Asia find that money? One answer is from those who hold its wealth.

Today, Asia is home to nearly 40% of the world’s billionaires, with a 141% increase in billionaire net worth over the past decade. The region could tap that money for inclusive and sustainable development.

Yet Asia still struggles to mobilize that capital, due to declining sources of donor support and a fragmented funding environment. That can put long-term, high-impact projects at risk.

This challenge has become more pressing as some sources of funding—like the U.S., which has slashed foreign aid budgets and is reassessing its support for causes like climate change—disappear. For example, the U.S. withdrawal from the Just Energy Transition Partnership for Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Africa, has left a vacuum to be filled.

Asia must urgently rethink its financing strategies to ensure vital social programs can continue, SDG commitments are met, and net zero targets can be achieved. Without a strategic approach to blend philanthropic and private capital, critical initiatives are vulnerable to collapse.

Rethinking finance for SDGs

Asia boasts significant wealth in the form of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) and high-net-worth (HNW) families, yet these resources are not being channeled effectively to support the SDGs.

That’s not due to a lack of philanthropic interest among Asia’s rich. Promisingly, as the next generation of leaders inherits vast wealth, they are focused on solving complex problems and exploring holistic investment strategies. They’re considering both grants and investments as ways to preserve their wealth and help society at the same time.

This generational shift in attitude presents an opportunity for fresh thinking on how philanthropy can drive change—especially as global aid funding is retreating.

Asia must rethink how it deploys wealth. Leaders must move beyond traditional, siloed grant-making toward coordinated, long-term strategies that attract both philanthropic and commercial capital. Donors can apply their philanthropic dollars as catalytic capital in public-private partnerships, taking on early risks, such as uncertain returns or longer time horizons, that commercial investors typically avoid. This makes high-impact projects more attractive to commercial investors, ultimately unlocking even larger pools of capital for social good.

This blended finance model—where philanthropic capital is used to attract private investment—offers a potential solution to the SDG financing gap. Wealth holders can use their capital to provide guarantees to unlock capital from commercial investors, offer technical assistance grants to impact projects, or take first-loss positions in investments, which reduces risk and makes high-impact projects bankable, and therefore attractive to commercial investors.

For example, the Temasek Foundation guarantees and derisks loans to smallholder farmers as part of the Sustainable Oil Palm Replanting in Indonesia project launched in March 2025.

But more can be done to better leverage philanthropic capital to attract other sources of funds. Many transactions are too small to appeal to institutional investors. Potential backers aren’t familiar with how to structure effective deals that combine public, private, and philanthropic capital. And more policy support and clearer regulation is needed to align these blended finance initiatives with government strategy.

Governments, development banks and commercial investors must also expand innovative financing models like sustainability-linked loans, social impact bonds, and pooled funds. These mechanisms can attract investment into critical areas like clean energy, education, and healthcare—essential to progress on the SDGs. Sustainability-linked loans, for example, offer lower interest rates for borrowers who achieve measurable social and environmental goals. If widely adopted, such models could provide much-needed capital for underserved areas.

Governments along with their regulators need to consider how to simplify approvals, remove cross-border investment barriers, and derisk investments in social and environmental impact to attract private capital.

Investors need greater transparency and data to assess the effectiveness of sustainable finance models. Reliable information on financial returns and social outcomes will build confidence in these investments. Digital tools can widen access to impact opportunities, especially for younger generations of wealth holders increasingly interested in purpose-driven investing.

Finally, organizations can build an ecosystem for social investment. By connecting diverse stakeholders, fostering trust, and facilitating strategic partnerships, they can funnel resources where it’s most needed. For example, AVPN has tried to bring together Singapore-based family offices and relationship managers at private banks to mobilize capital for causes in Asia.

How to unlock Asia’s philanthropic potential

Asia now has a unique opportunity to lead global efforts in reshaping sustainable finance. The upcoming International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) is a key moment for the region to influence how capital can support sustainable development worldwide.

Delaying action in embracing regulatory reform and innovative finance models could result in lost opportunities when funding is needed more than ever. As traditional development finance shifts its focus away from emerging markets, Asia must take charge—not only by increasing investments but also by driving policy changes that support long-term, scalable impact.

Asian models of philanthropy hold the potential to lead the charge for change. Addressing the SDG financing gap requires strategic and collaborative funding. By using its wealth more effectively, Asia can reshape sustainable finance and ensure that development goals are met.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com



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‘This species is recovering’: Jaguar spotted in Arizona, far from Central and South American core

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December 5, 2025

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The spots gave it away. Just like a human fingerprint, the rosette pattern on each jaguar is unique so researchers knew they had a new animal on their hands after reviewing images captured by a remote camera in southern Arizona.

The University of Arizona Wild Cat Research and Conservation Center says it’s the fifth big cat over the last 15 years to be spotted in the area after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The animal was captured by the camera as it visited a watering hole in November, its distinctive spots setting it apart from previous sightings.

“We’re very excited. It signifies this edge population of jaguars continues to come here because they’re finding what they need,” Susan Malusa, director of the center’s jaguar and ocelot project, said during an interview Thursday.

The team is now working to collect scat samples to conduct genetic analysis and determine the sex and other details about the new jaguar, including what it likes to eat. The menu can include everything from skunks and javelina to small deer.

As an indicator species, Malusa said the continued presence of big cats in the region suggests a healthy landscape but that climate change and border barriers can threaten migratory corridors. She explained that warming temperatures and significant drought increase the urgency to ensure connectivity for jaguars with their historic range in Arizona.

More than 99% of the jaguar’s range is found in Central and South America, and the few male jaguars that have been spotted in the U.S. are believed to have dispersed from core populations in Mexico, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Officials have said that jaguar breeding in the U.S. has not been documented in more than 100 years.

Federal biologists have listed primary threats to the endangered species as habitat loss and fragmentation along with the animals being targeted for trophies and illegal trade.

The Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule in 2024, revising the habitat set aside for jaguars in response to a legal challenge. The area was reduced to about 1,000 square miles (2,590 square kilometers) in Arizona’s Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties.

Recent detection data supports findings that a jaguar appears every few years, Malusa said, with movement often tied to the availability of water. When food and water are plentiful, there’s less movement.

In the case of Jaguar #5, she said it was remarkable that the cat kept returning to the area over a 10-day period. Otherwise, she described the animals as quite elusive.

“That’s the message — that this species is recovering,” Malusa said. “We want people to know that and that we still do have a chance to get it right and keep these corridors open.”



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MacKenzie Scott tries to close the higher ed DEI gap, giving away $155 million this week alone

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December 5, 2025

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MacKenzie Scott has arguably been the biggest name in philanthropy this year—and has nonstop been making major gifts to organizations focused on education, DEI, disaster recovery, and many other causes.

This week alone, several higher education institutions announced major gifts from the billionaire philanthropist and ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos—donations totaling well over $100 million. In true Scott fashion, many of these donations are the largest single donations these schools have ever received.

The donations announced this week include: 

  • $50 million to California State University-East Bay
  • $50 million to Lehman College (part of the City University of New York system)
  • $38 million to Texas A&M University-Kingsville
  • $17 million to Seminole State College

All four institutions are public, access-oriented colleges that enroll large shares of low‑income, first‑generation, and racially diverse students and function as minority‑serving institutions or similar engines of social mobility. They fit MacKenzie Scott’s broader pattern of directing large, unrestricted gifts to colleges that serve “chronically underserved” communities rather than already wealthy, highly selective universities.

Scott, who is worth about $40 billion and has donated over $20 billion in the past five years, has doubled down this year on causes that the Trump administration has cut deeply, such as education, DEI, and disaster recovery.

“As higher education, in general, works to find its way in an uncertain environment, this gift is a major source of encouragement that we are on the right path,” Lehman College President Fernando Delgado said in a statement. 

Scott also made one of the largest donations in HBCU Howard University’s 158-year history with an $80 million gift earlier this fall, and a $60 million donation to the Center for Disaster Philanthropy after Trump administration’s cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—an organization Americans rely on for help during and after hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, and floods.

“All sectors of society—public, private, and social—share responsibility for helping communities thrive after a disaster,” CDP president and CEO Patricia McIlreavy previously told Fortune. “Philanthropy plays a critical role in providing communities with resources to rebuild stronger, but it cannot—and should not—replace government and its essential responsibilities.”

Trust-based philanthropy

Scott accumulated the vast majority of her wealth from her 2019 divorce from Bezos, but is dedicated to giving away most of her fortune. She’s considered a unique philanthropist in today’s environment because her gifts are typically unrestricted, meaning the organizations can use the funding however they choose. 

“She practices trust-based philanthropy,” Anne Marie Dougherty, CEO of the Bob Woodruff Foundation previously told Fortune. Scott has donated $15 million to the veteran-focused nonprofit organization in 2022, and made a subsequent $20 million donation this fall.

Scott is also considered one of the most generous philanthropists, and credits acts of kindness for inspiring her to give back.

“It was the local dentist who offered me free dental work when he saw me securing a broken tooth with denture glue in college,” Scott wrote of her inspiration for philanthropy in an Oct. 15 essay published to her Yield Giving site. “It was the college roommate who found me crying, and acted on her urge to loan me a thousand dollars to keep me from having to drop out in my sophomore year.”



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Netflix’s bombshell deal to buy Warner Bros. brings Batman and Harry Potter to the streamer, infuriates theater owners and the Ellisons

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December 5, 2025

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Netflix’s agreement to buy Warner Bros. in a $72 billion deal marks a seismic shift in Hollywood, handing the streaming giant control of iconic franchises such as Batman and Harry Potter and triggering an immediate backlash from theater owners and the jilted Ellison family behind Paramount. The bombshell transaction, struck after a bidding war that ensued after David Ellison’sunsolicited bids several months ago, positions Netflix ever more at the center of the Southern California entertainment business that the Northern California company disrupted so famously decades ago.​

The deal will see Netflix acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and TV studios and its streaming operations, including HBO Max, in a deal with an equity value of roughly $72 billion, or about $27.75 per share in cash and stock, valuing Warner Bros. at $82.7 billion. The agreement followed a heated auction in which Netflix’s bid edged out offers from Paramount Skydance and Comcast, both of which had pushed to keep the storied Warner assets in more traditional hands.

Two days before Netflix won the bidding, Paramount hinted at its fury with a strongly worded letter to WBD CEO David Zaslav, arguing the process was “tainted” and Warner Bros. was favoring a single bidder: Netflix. Paramount called it a “myopic process with a predetermined outcome that favors a single bidder,” Bloomberg reported, although Netflix’s bid is understood to be the highest of the three.

Another angry group is theater owners, who have famously warred with Netflix for years over the big red streamer’s reluctance, even refusal to follow traditional theatrical-release practices. Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos has adamantly defended Netflix’s streaming-forward distribution, saying it’s what consumers really want. At the Time 100 event in April of this year, Sarandos called theatrical release “an outmoded idea for most people” and said Netflix was “saving Hollywood” by giving people what they want: streaming at home.

Cinema United, the trade association which represents over 30,000 movie screens in the U.S. and 26,000 internationally, immediately announced its opposition to Netflix acquiring a legacy Hollywood studio. The organization’s chief, Michael O’Leary, said it “poses an unprecedented threat to the global exhibition business” as Netflix’s states business model simply does not support theatrical exhibition. He urged regulators to look closely at the acquisition.

Deadline reported that other producers are warning of “the death of Hollywood” as a result of this deal. Several days earlier, Bank of America Research’s analysts had surveyed the landscape and concluded that as a defensive move, Netflix would be “killing three birds with one stone,” as its ownership of Warner Bros’ would be a daunting blow to Paramount and Comcast, while taking the Warner legacy studio out of the running. The bank calculated that a combined Netflix and Warner Bros. would comprise roughly 21% of total streaming time—still shy of YouTube’s 28% hold on the market, but far greater than Paramount’s 5% and Comcast’s 4%.

What’s known and what’s still at play

As part of the deal, Netflix will retain the studio that controls the superheroes of DC, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and HBO’s prestige brands. Other details on what will happen to the standalone streaming service HBO Max were scant, with the companies saying only that Netflix will “maintain” Warner Bros. current operations. The companies expect the transaction to close after regulatory review, with Netflix projecting billions in annual cost savings by the third year after completion.

​The deal will not include all of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to the press release announcing the acquisition, which said the previously announced plans to separate WBD’s cable operations will be completed before the Netflix deal, in the third quarter of 2026. The newly separated publicly traded company holding the Global Networks division will be called Discovery Global, and will include CNN, TNT Sports in the U.S., as well as Discovery, free-to-air channels across Europe, plus digital products such as Discovery+ and Bleacher Report.  

On a conference call with reporters Friday morning, Sarandos said Netflix is “highly confident in the regulatory process,” calling the deal pro-consumer, pro-innovation, pro-worker, pro-creator and pro-growth. He said Netflix planned to work closely with regulators and was running “full speed” ahead toward getting all regulatory approvals. He added that Netflix executives were “tired” after “an incredibly rigorous and competitive process.” Alluding to Netflix’s traditional resistance to big M&A, Sarandos added that “we don’t do many of these, but we were deep in this one.”

Influential entertainment journalist Matt Belloni of Puck previewed the likely deal on Bill Simmons’ podcast on Spotify’s Ringer network (which recently struck a deal to bring some video podcasts to Netflix), and they speculated about potential problems inside Netflix that brought the deal to a head. In conversation about how defensive the move is, Belloni said Netflix is “doing this for a reason” and may have reached a “stress point” because it hasn’t been getting traction with its own moviemaking efforts after 10 years of trying. (Netflix has also been agonizingly close to an elusive Best Picture Oscar, with close calls on Roma and Emilia Perez, the latter of which was derailed in a bizarre social-media controversy.) Belloni also acknowledged the criticism that Netflix has struggled to create its own franchises, also after years of trying.

Sarandos highlighted Netflix’s homegrown franchises while announcing the deal, arguing that Netflix’s ” culture-defining titles like Stranger Things, KPop Demon Hunters and Squid Game” will now combine with Warner’s deep library including classics Casablanca and Citizen Kane, even Friends.

The biggest losers in the bidding war may be David Ellison and his father, Oracle co‑founder (and long-time Republican donor)Larry Ellison, whose Paramount‑Skydance empire had been widely seen as a front‑runner to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. David Ellison, has since reportedly been pleading his case around Washington, meeting Trump administration officials as allies float antitrust and national‑interest concerns about giving Netflix control of such a critical studio.

While Netflix has tried to calm regulators by arguing that a combined Netflix–HBO Max bundle would increase competition with Disney and others, the Ellisons and their supporters are signaling they will continue to press for tougher scrutiny or even intervention. Large M&A has made a big comeback in 2025 as the Trump administration has been notably friendlier to big deals than the deep freeze of the Biden administration, making this deal an acid test for just how true that is when a company with deep ties to the White House gets jilted.​

[Disclosure: The author worked internally at Netflix from June 2024 through July 2025.]



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