The Billionaire Reinventing The Way We Do Philanthropy | Wealth-X
Last year Wagner hatched an idea for a novel way to raise money through leveraging the power of social media, technology and celebrity, which puts the emphasis not on the wealthy, but on the mass market.
Chideo – a combination of the words charity and video – is a digital video network that operates a bit like Twitter, but with a practical marketing purpose. Wagner has invested tens of millions of dollars in the Los Angeles and Dallas-based firm which is one hundred percent owned and funded by him.
“In everything I have done I have always sought to challenge the status quo,” explained Wagner. “Chideo turns giving on its head because the primary driver is not philanthropic. The draw is for fans to interact with their favourite celebrity or personality, which rightly or wrongly, is what motivates a lot more people than just donating to charity.”