Prince Albert II challenged around 100 of the world’s leading philanthropists to rethink who controls their giving, who inherits it and what role artificial intelligence should play in it, as Monaco hosted the inaugural Monaco Summit on Philanthropy on Monday, with guests representing an estimated €150 billion in private wealth.

Hosted by the Prince and Princess Charlene at the Yacht Club de Monaco on 12th October, the invitation-only summit drew founders of major foundations, philanthropic families and representatives of royal and sovereign-linked institutions from more than 20 countries. It was organised by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, with the support of the Tocqueville Foundation, and is intended to become an annual event.

Freedom, and its limits

“We are living through very uncertain times, and across the world, governments are revisiting their priorities. Urgent issues too often take precedence over essential ones, and international funding is under strain,” the Prince said as he opened the day.

In that context, he argued, philanthropy “enjoys a rare freedom. The freedom to act over the long term. The freedom to take risks. The freedom to support causes that do not yet receive the attention they deserve. Where Governments often think in years, philanthropy can think in generations.”

That freedom, he argued, comes with three challenges. The first is scale: how to grow philanthropic resources without concentrating them in the hands of a few private actors. “After all these issues at stake belong to all of humanity,” he said, calling for closer cooperation with public authorities, international institutions and civil society.

The second is transmission, as a considerable share of the world’s wealth passes to a new generation. “Yet passing on wealth is not enough. We must involve this generation right now, encouraging their ideas and cultivating the desire to give,” said the Prince. The summit put that into practice with a Next Generation Circle, giving inheritors a platform in their own name.

The third is technology. “I sincerely hope that an algorithm will never decide for us what is worth supporting, but it can help us act more wisely: to identify needs, measure impact, follow the health of ecosystems, and recognise the solutions capable of changing scale,” he said.

‘The humility to listen’

Princess Charlene echoed the concern over technology, asking delegates how AI could “help us meet human needs without losing the human touch”, and urged them to keep beneficiaries at the centre of their work.

“For me, philanthropy begins with a willingness to care – and the humility to listen,” she said. “Above all, the people we seek to support must have a voice in the decisions that shape their lives. Their knowledge, their hopes and their dignity must guide our efforts.”

The day’s sessions ranged from philanthropy’s place in national economies and its role in building public institutions to how foundations can anticipate future crises, closing with a session on AI in practice.

A prize for Dubai

The Prince’s Prize for Innovative Philanthropy went to the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), the Dubai-based organisation established under Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. Its Director of Sustainability and Partnerships, Ibrahim Al Balooshi, accepted the award from the Prince.

Fifteen years in the making

Although this was the first summit under its new name, it grew from a philanthropy round table that the Prince developed over 15 years with Jean-Guillaume de Tocqueville. It also comes as the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation marks 20 years, having supported more than 850 environmental projects, while the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation has supported 808 projects in 45 countries, reaching more than 2.82 million beneficiaries, most of them children.

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Photo credit: Michaël Alesi, Prince’s Palace