About the Authors
Richard C. Blum
Richard C. Blum is a San Francisco-based private-equity investor and philanthropist. He has combined these twin passions over several decades, applying his core concepts and acumen to build companies for long-term growth at Blum Capital Partners, Newbridge Capital, and other firms, and to myriad humanitarian, higher education, and public policy projects to fight poverty and advance global development.
Among these is the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley, with branches throughout the UC system. The Center combines studies and cutting edge research to train students, source innovations, and develop scalable solutions to address poverty. Richard also founded and chairs the American Himalayan Foundation, a humanitarian group that works in Nepal and throughout the Himalaya to improve education and health, preserve Tibetan culture, and prevent girl trafficking.
A member and former chair of the University of California’s Board of Regents, he is married to US Senator Dianne Feinstein.
Thomas C. Hayes
Thomas C. Hayes is a managing director with Finsbury, a global consulting firm in strategic communications, and a former award-winning New York Times economic correspondent. An Accident of Geography is his fourth book, each a collaboration with authors in investing, management, technology, or philanthropy.
“I have been lucky in my life in terms of having a wonderful family and in terms of being financially successful. But I have never forgotten – because I have spent the better part of 40 years traveling the world – that most people don’t live anywhere near as well as we live. We have an obligation not only to help them because it’s the right thing to do, but because grinding poverty and the lack of education are destabilizing factors that can eventually hurt us all.”
– Richard C. Blum