The Impact Mafia: How the Elite Invented a Way to Feel Good While Doing Nothing

This is an adaptation from the upcoming book, “Radical Truth.” Think your network needs to hear this? Share it. Let’s start a real conversation.

You ever notice how rich people have invented an entirely new way to feel good about themselves while doing absolutely nothing? It’s called “impact investing.” Beautiful term, isn’t it? Two words that individually make sense but together create the perfect smokescreen for what’s really going on.

Imagine a room full of people wearing $5,000 suits and $20,000 watches, sipping champagne., The conversation centers on how they’re going to “save the world” with their money. Welcome to the Impact Mafia.

The Birth of a Beautiful Scam

Remember the good old days when rich people just admitted they were greedy bastards? “Yeah, I want more money because I like mansions and yachts.” At least there was some honesty there. But somewhere in the early 2000s, someone brilliant came up with a fantastic idea: “What if we could make even MORE money while convincing everyone—including ourselves—that we’re actually saints?”

And thus, impact investing was born. Call it what it is: lipstick on a leveraged grenade; or regular investing, but with a veneer of sanctimony.