Law professor Ray Madoff is the co-founder and director of the Boston College Forum on Philanthropy and the Public Good. In an interview with Emily Schwartz Greco, The Conversation U.S. philanthropy and nonprofits editor, Madoff sums up some of the main points about charitable giving she makes in her 2025 book, “The Second Estate: How the Tax Code Made an American Aristocracy.” This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How has charitable giving changed over the past 50 years?
