Our History
Jim Greenbaum is the founder and managing director of the Greenbaum Foundation. A native of Monroe, Louisiana, and a graduate of the University of Virginia, Jim entered the workforce with one primary goal in mind -- to make as much money as quickly as possible in order to use those funds to help make the world a better place.
Jim founded and became CEO of Access Long Distance in 1985. Less than a decade later, while in his early 30’s, Jim made the decision that he would leave the corporate world at the age of 40. Keeping true to the plan, Jim sold the company in 1999, soon growing his net worth to $133 million. He then began transferring much of that money to the foundation where its investments created additional funds to be distributed to charitable projects.
Jim has committed to contributing in excess of 85% of his assets to charitable projects ending human and non-human suffering during his lifetime, and the remainder of his estate soon thereafter. The foundation’s assets will also be spent down during his lifetime.
Jim is passionate about bringing business efficiency and selfless, common sense approaches to the humanitarian world. He is an ethical vegan and describes his approach to giving as Golden Rule Philanthropy. Jim also hopes to encourage more high net worth individuals to become philanthropic, to do so during their lifetimes, and to strive to follow an Effective Altruistic approach for at least one-half of their giving.
(Effective Altruism is a growing social movement founded on the desire to make the world as good a place as it can be, the use of evidence and reason to find out how to do so, and the audacity to actually try. The primary focuses - Saving Lives, Ending Suffering, and Saving the planet.)
