The L.A.-based billionaire celebrated philosopher Martha Nussbaum, who received the Berggruen Prize, at a New York event that drew A-listers including Karlie Kloss, Wendi Murdoch, and David Rockefeller.
Rockstar philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen stood before a diverse crowd of philosophers, artists, and wealthy New York socialites, on a Monday in early December, at the New York Public Library holding a golden egg in a tiny egg crate. The egg was a gift from artist Urs Fischer to the Berggruen Institute, the vanguard L.A.-based think tank that Berggruen has created in order to foster new dialogues on philosophy, governance, art, and culture. The event was held to present the third annual Berggruen Prize (including a $1 million check) to philosopher Martha Nussbaum.
Attendees included Karlie Kloss, Princess Beatrice of York with Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Rachel Bay Jones (Tony-winning actor from Dear Evan Hansen), Kerry Kennedy, architect Kulapat Yantrasast, Wendi Deng Murdoch, Getty Museum Director Timothy Potts, Howard, and Lili Buffett and Susan and David Rockefeller.
After introductions by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Berggruen, the 300-person crowd was entertained by Mozart and Dvorak Arias sung by Puerto Rican soprano Ana Maria Martinez and selected by Martinez in conjunction with the honoree, Nussbaum.
The intimate performance was followed by a conversation between Razia Iqbal of the BBC World Service and Nussbaum. The two discussed the role of philosophy in this tense political climate and the ways in which Nussbaum forged her “capabilities” approach to philosophical thought.
“The infantile experience of helplessness arises again many times in life,” said Nussbaum, a University of Chicago professor and author. “This fear that is always simmering underneath rises up and you need to ask yourself why is this a time of particular fear? What are we afraid of? … What happens when people feel helpless is that they latch on to something that makes them feel very comfortable and then too often the fear can be projected outward onto some scapegoat.”
The importance of the arts was also a focus. “As either audience or performer, you learn in a kind of emotionally deep and rich reciprocal engagement with others that is non-hierarchical,” Nussbaum said, adding that “artwork does cultivate your emotional knowledge, and it also helps you understand that you can engage with people on a plane that is not about yelling.”
The Berggruen Prize is just one of the L.A.-based billionaire’s many initiatives to generate innovative ideas about society and governance — Berggruen is building a think tank in the Santa Monica Mountains and already has offices in downtown’s iconic Bradbury Building. At the New York event, he spoke with THR about his own philosophy, mission, and hopes for the impact of the Prize and his other plans.
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