Boston College’s Center on Wealth and Philanthropy (CWP) is conducting the largest-ever study of some of the nation’s most influential but least-studied citizens. “The Joys and Dilemmas of Wealth,” a three-year project, examines Americans with a net worth of $25 million or more, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the values, beliefs, and decisions that promote or discourage philanthropic giving.

illustration: Eamonn Bonner

Funded by a $600,000 multipurpose grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and an award from Calibre, a division of Wachovia Wealth Management, the study will survey at least 1,000 respondents—an unparalleled sample size for such high net worth households—and will collect information about their regrets and achievements, spiritual beliefs, personal goals, and perceptions of happiness.

In the last decade, according to the Federal Reserve, the number of U.S. households with a net worth above $25 million grew by two-thirds, from about 60,000 to more than 100,000. “This is an era of expanding wealth,” says the center’s director, Paul Schervish, who is overseeing the study with senior associate director John J. Havens. “Yet we still [know] very little about those with the greatest giving power,” or about what they “want and need” in order to share their wealth effectively.

The survey consists of 85-plus questions—many of them open-ended—and it will be conducted online. Participants will respond anonymously. The findings are scheduled to be published in fall 2009.

Read more by Cara Feinberg