An Interview with Edgar Villanueva
In this insightful interview held at the Skoll World Forum in 2019, Edgar Villanueva unpicks the colonial attitudes and monocultural approaches woven into mainstream philanthropy and finance, encouraging members of these sectors to lean into the uncomfortable history of how wealth has been accumulated and to “give money away in a way that respects history.” He believes that the same wealth that inflicted trauma can also be used to facilitate healing and connection
An award-winning author, activist, and expert on issues of race, wealth, and philanthropy, Edgar Villanueva is the Principal of Decolonizing Wealth Project and Liberated Capital and author of the bestselling book Decolonizing Wealth (2018, 2021). He advises a range of organisations including national and global philanthropies, Fortune 500 companies, and entertainment on social impact strategies to advance racial equity from within and through their investment strategies.
His first book, Decolonizing Wealth, offers hopeful and compelling alternatives to the dynamics of colonization in the philanthropic and social finance sectors. Due to the success of Decolonizing Wealth and the request for programs and education about decolonization, Edgar launched the Decolonizing Wealth Project (DWP) in late 2018.
In 2019, he founded Liberated Capital, a participatory grantmaking fund directed by DWP that invites individuals and organisations to give through a reparations model that trusts and supports the leadership of those most impacted by historical and systemic racism. The fund welcomes support from all who are committed to collectively healing the wounds of colonialism and white supremacy by using money as medicine to shape an equitable future.
