This past Week we had the privilege to visit Barclays Wealth Management, the Royal Albert Hall as well as the Globe and the National Theatre (both on the same day). I am an American Studies major, therefore the fields of business, economics and “wealth” are, unfortunately, of no interest to me, yet something about Barclay’s sparked my interest in more than just the economics of wealth.
We sat through an intricate presentation titled “The City of London and the Banking Sector,” from which I learned the following:
-The City of London and Canary Wharf are London’s financial center
-London is the main European banking center and hosts the largest international insurance market as well as the largest foreign exchange market
-There was a credit crash in 2006 which caused a major job loss and the downhill slope of the stock exchange
-Barclays Bank is located in 60 different countries, 140,000 employees
-The company manages the wealth of people who own a “fair amount of assets,” “fair”=”wealthy”= £1,000,000
-The GDP in the world’s major economies dropped to the negatives by 2009, and are expected o rise in 2010
-UK’s average salary is £28,000 a year
-Most wealth still resides in the US but Asia currently houses the fastest growing economies in the world; Barclays seeks to expand to Asia
Oh and last but not least, the workers of Barclays Wealth Management are given two days of the year to go and do community work at an assigned institution.
After their very interesting presentation, I approached one of the employees and asked him to tell me a little bit more about the type of philanthropy they are engaged in, he was excited to explain. He stated that there is a philanthropy department of the company who is in charge of helping wealthy people decide where to put their money, in other words which charities are more logical to donate to. I did not take this idea very well, but what can I do, I guess at least they’re pretending to care about the community. Evidently, based on their presentation, all that they really care about is making money. I am glad to be embarking on a path extremely distant from the business world.
All of this money talk and then “As You Like it,” a play of comedy and love the next day, “Pitmen Painters” later in the afternoon. To be capable of attending two plays in one day after a presentation about wealth management makes me feel extremely privileged. I just had a moment where I realized how lucky we are to be in our very own shoes. Dickinson (and all affiliated donors and organizations) has truly blessed us with the gift to see and experience a world not so different from our own, yet filled with new adventures to seek.
Summary: Braclay’s Wealth Management cares about making profit and I care about plays that both inspire and entertain the soul.
