Before the money lands: what changes for donors in France
Jack Lewars and Chloe Cockburn have written a practical guide for people in tech about to receive sudden wealth. Here is why we recommend it, and what works differently if you live in France.
An unusual number of people in tech are about to go from a salary to tens or hundreds of millions almost overnight, through a share buyback, an IPO, an acquisition or vesting equity. Jack Lewars (Ultra Philanthropy) and Chloe Cockburn (Just Impact Advisors) have advised donors through this transition for years. Their article, published on The Funding Anthropalypse on 20 October 2026, is the clearest guide to it I have read. I know Jack personally, and I highly recommend subscribing to his Substack.
Their advice comes down to three things to do before any liquidity event:
The authors write mainly with the United States and the United Kingdom in mind. If you live in France, two points work differently.
Tax timing
In France: a donation to a public-interest charity gives you an income tax reduction of 66 % of the amount given, capped at 20 % of taxable income, and you can carry any excess forward over five years. That cap is the point to plan for when your wealth is high and your income is low. Timing matters as much as in the United States, for a different reason: if you give your shares once the sale has already been negotiated, the tax authorities may treat it as a sale followed by a gift of the cash, and the benefit disappears. We can put you in touch with tax specialists; contact them (well) before the sale.
Giving vehicles
The authors recommend committing your wealth through an irrevocable vehicle such as a donor-advised fund (DAF), which can also let you give anonymously.
In France: the two closest vehicles are the endowment fund (fonds de dotation), which you create and govern yourself, and the sheltered fund (fonds abrité) hosted by an umbrella foundation, which spares you from setting up a structure. Anonymity also works differently: an endowment fund's accounts are public.
At Mieux Donner, we already advise people whose wealth has grown sharply, or will grow in the coming years, and they ask us the same questions.
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