Asian American Giving

APRIL 26, 2013

-by Andy Ho

Earlier this week The Los Angeles Times published a lengthy profile on Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, one of the more prominent Asian American philanthropists. He discusses his thoughts on philanthropy, making a difference in medicine and healthcare, and collective impact on the fight against cancer.

"We’re all about making an impactful change in people’s lives in ways that we can touch and feel right now. Whether that is exercised through our philanthropic mission or through our entrepreneurial, for-profit mission—in a funny way I’m really indifferent. All I want is to get it done. And that sort of speaks to what I’m doing with our philanthropy. We’re not about putting our names on buildings. We’re not about shouting from rooftops about what we’re doing. We’re also not about a handout; we’re about a hand-in, which is a different concept. We want to figure out how we can change people’s lives in real time."