[2] In his April 14, 2017 The New York Times review, author and Wealth Matters columnist, Paul Sullivan, described The Givers as a book that investigates the "power of philanthropists to shape America.

"[6] Callahan predicts that in within the "foreseeable future", philanthropic spending could increase to the point that it would supplant the federal government in "social programs, medical research", and assistance for the poor among many other areas."

[6] The Time review cites Callahan saying, that an unintended consequence of "megafoundations" spending "massive amounts of money" to cure disease or to redesign public education, is that it can undermine the democratic process.

[7] Callahan says that "government incentives" related to philanthropy and advocacy, are "outdated" which means that the wealthiest people have a greater influence than ordinary citizens in public policy making.

[7] The Atlantic March 28, 2017 review reiterated Callahan's point, that philanthropists are replacing and supplanting government in decision-making, regarding which "scientific issues are researched, what types of schools exist in communities, and what initiatives get on ballots.

"[8] The Wall Street Journal called it a war on philanthropy with the Kochs, Waltons, Bill Gates, Eli Broad and others "treated as punching bags for ideological reasons.