Town & Country features the latest in luxury, from beautiful homes, sumptuous dining to exotic locations. In 11 gorgeous annual issues, Town & Country covers the arts, fashion and culture, bringing the best of everything to America's trendsetters
1961 SOCIETY? For 178 years it has been T&C’s mission to chronicle the people, places, and things that define Society—always with a touch of irreverence and a healthy dose of introspection. In the 1960s we were aided in this pursuit by social critic Cleveland Amory, whose patrician roots—he was a Boston Brahmin educated at Harvard, where he was president of the Crimson and a member of the Spee Club—gave him an excellent vantage point from which to observe (and skewer) the elite, which he did in his 1960 book, Who Killed Society?, and in columns for this magazine. Amory’s wit still reverberates today as we continue to ponder this eternal question. Society? What does it mean now? How can it be better? We hope you will find some answers in…
This was the year Ruth Gottesman donated $1 billion to make medical school tuition free for all Albert Einstein College of Medicine students. The year MacKenzie Scott gave away $640 million, more than doubling her planned gifts, to 361 nonprofit applicants. The year Mike Bloomberg gave a record $600 million to four historically Black medical schools. And the year rapper Flavor Flav sponsored the Olympic women’s water polo team immediately after he heard from one of the athletes that they needed help. There are grand gestures of philanthropy to honor and celebrate, yes, but also many simple acts of kindness. “Sometimes you can buy a raffle ticket,” arts and dance education patron Jody Gottfried Arnhold reminded us at last year’s T&C Philanthropy Summit. “Sometimes you can be president of the…
WHERE ARE WE GOING? It was considered the most dangerous race in the world—so deadly it had to be canceled in 1955, only five years after its inception. And yet the allure of the Carrera Panamericana—a 3,000-km rally that speeds through Mexico—never faded. In 1988 it was brought back (and made safer), and it remains a holy grail for any driver, from Formula One to NASCAR. OCTOBER 11–17, LACARRERAPANAMERICANA.COM.MX WHAT ARE WE WEARING? Just how influential was the Carrera Panamericana? In 1963 Tag Heuer scion Jack Heuer was so inspired by tales of the infamous race that he designed the Carrera chronograph, which is still a house signature today. Another superfan: Porsche. (Guess where the Carrera and Panamera models got their names.) What happens when two heritage brands share a…
The hunt for campaign cash is so relentless that in order to lead the free world, the American president needs to take a break from dialing for dollars. Barack Obama thought he could get away with a respite from the fundraising back in April 2013. He’d just won reelection, and Congress was settling in for a new term. “Now, this year, we have a window,” Obama said then. “We would like to see some governing done in Washington before the next election starts.” Where did he say this? In San Francisco, at a $3.25 million fundraiser for House Democrats. “He was raising campaign funds for a midterm election that would take place 19 months in the future,” said Brendan J. Doherty, author of Fundraiser in Chief: Presidents and the Politics…
Politics, it turns out, is not the only thing that makes strange bedfellows. Anyone skeptical that the philanthropy universe can be riveting need only look to the last year to become a believer. Not only were unexpected alliances forged (Flavor Flav and the U.S. women’s water polo team being perhaps the most delightful among them), but billionaires pumped dollars into the nonprofit sector at unprecedented, head-spinning rates (hi, MacKenzie and Melinda), two major players made it suddenly much more financially feasible to pursue a career in medicine (thank you, Ruth and Michael), and a surprise estate planning decision by the Oracle of Omaha established what will become the world’s largest private foundation, topping Gates et al. (see page 46). All that plus fiery headlines about university donors going toe to…
Kering Foundation The fashion behemoth’s charitable arm, which shines a spotlight on women impacted by gender based violence, raised more than $3 million at a recent gala. Princess Grace Foundation–USA In October the group, backed by Prince Albert, held its 40th annual gala and celebrated bestowing 900 awards on early-career artists. Rolex Awards for Enterprise This year Rolex marked its 160th cash grant since the program began, in 1976, to award innovators helming philanthropic projects in science, health, the environment, and the arts. Matthew Perry Foundation A year after the death of its namesake, the foundation has launched a series of grants supporting organizations focused on addiction. John Michael Kohler Arts Center This year the Wisconsin institution marks 50 years of its prestigious Arts/Industry residency program, which has more than…
