Philanthropist and banker John Studzinski: 'I have never forgotten what Mother Teresa told me…'

“John, you must pray for me,” that’s how Pope Francis started every conversation with his friend and collaborator John Studzinski. The American-born British business leader and philanthropist was picked by the pontiff to set up the Arise Foundation, which works to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking.

By the time it was established in 2016, Studinski already had a papal knighthood from John Paul II for his humanitarian work, which included setting up The Passage day centre for people experiencing homelessness in London and the Genesis Foundation, which supports emerging artists.

But besides all this philanthropy work, John Studinski is a hugely successful investment banker with a long career at Morgan Stanley, HSBC and The Blackstone Group. He is currently managing director and vice chairman at PIMCO. So how does the banking balance with the topic of his new book, A Talent for Giving, which promises a plan to create “a more generous society that benefits everyone”?

BIG ISSUE: Should philanthropy – or on a less grand scale, giving – be seen as a skill?

JOHN STUDZINSKI: Even if the word ‘philanthropy’ has become associated with big projects and big money, its fundamental, literal meaning is ‘love of mankind’. Everybody is capable of giving in some way – and giving doesn’t have to be about money. So, anyone can be a philanthropist. I wouldn’t define giving as a skill, but you can certainly get better at if you are guided by your passions, your anxieties and your talents. You need to commit to giving: it’s not something to do casually or as a way of assuaging your conscience. Your focus should be on how you – with your particular mindset, passions, talents and concerns about the state of the world – can best make a difference.

Do we have less of a talent for it now than we’ve had in the past?

We don’t have less of a talent for it, but maybe we need to work harder at bringing the talent back to light. The world certainly has too much of a tendency to think of giving purely in terms of money – clicking on a ‘Pay’ button and leaving it at that. There are so many other ways we can give. Just think about what we can do by giving our time, and by making real use of our talents to make the world a better place. With giving, as with anything else, you learn by doing. The trouble is that today’s world makes so many apparently urgent demands on us. It’s too easy to convince ourselves we just don’t have time to give, or even simply to think about finding our particular talents for giving. And it’s not good enough to say that you just don’t have that kind of talent: it’s up to you to identify and unearth it.

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How?

You have to start off by being ready to learn – and never to stop learning. As in so many aspects of life, role models and mentors are very important when it comes to giving. Over the years I’ve benefited from the wisdom and experience of some phenomenal people who really knew how to give of their time and talent. If you don’t have a mentor, don’t wait for one to come to you. Go out and find one. You might be surprised how ready people will be to share their knowledge and wisdom with you. Equally, if you feel you already know something about giving, you should take opportunities to become a mentor – you will learn from each mentoring relationship.

Read more:

• Meet the primary school children with big ideas to end homelessness in the UK
• Countdown star Susie Dent: Why ‘willanthropy’ is my new favourite word
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Where do you think your drive to give others a hand up comes from?

My mother was a great role model for me. She said I should be prepared to give the shirt off my back to someone who needed it, and she had me helping out in a community kitchen when I was six years old. I still do hands-on volunteering at The Passage. Volunteering is hard-wired in me. Another decisive factor was a life-changing car accident I had in my twenties. When I recovered, it was clear to me that I had a lot more to do in life, and that giving was a priority. I knew that I needed to step up the pace.

Is it contradictory to work in high finance but also want to help those in poverty? Both of these things only exist if inequalities persist…

The world is, sadly, an unfair place, but I have never forgotten something Mother Teresa of Calcutta told me: you can only change the world one person at a time. In that sense, I hope I’ve helped change things for thousands of people along the way. Economic equality is one thing, but I’m deeply concerned about inequalities of dignity. If you work in finance, one of the key disciplines you learn is the efficient allocation of resources. It’s about making the most of what you’ve got, and I very much see time and talent – not just money – as resources. And, to put things bluntly, if you have a well-paid job in finance, and are lucky enough to earn a good living, that means you have more money to give away… though on top of that you should always keep looking for other ways of giving too.

You’ve worked with everyone from people experiencing homelessness to the Pope. What positive qualities are most important in a person no matter their circumstances?

I’m a great believer in the art of listening. You have to start by listening to yourself, to help you unearth the particular talents that can drive and enhance your giving. And when you are in a discussion with someone, you must be ready to listen to what they have to say – even if you are not coming from the same direction or actively disagree with them. When we listen, our focus should be on learning and understanding – not on coming up with a riposte. If you listen, learn and work at understanding, you gain in empathy, and empathy is fundamental to giving.

What is your big issue?

I’ve been working on street homelessness in London for 40 years and it’s still with us; modern slavery is at a highpoint; food security is a global issue, even in wealthy countries. The problems the world faces continue to be formidable, but – for everybody’s sake, for the common good, we cannot afford to see them as insurmountable. And we need to think about other ways of solving those problems than simply by giving money if and when we can.

I’ll repeat Mother Teresa’s phrase: you can only change the world one person at a time. We need to be working at grassroots level, chipping away at things, tapping into our passions and our talents to keep ourselves motivated if things get tough or progress seems slow. We should never give up on giving.

A Talent for Giving by John Studzinski (Bloomsbury, £16.99) is out now.

You can buy it from the Big Issue shop on bookshop.org, which helps to support Big Issue and independent bookshops.

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