Ideas
Raise a Glass to Freedom
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As a non-Jew, I’m fascinated that a people which constitute less than 1% of the world’s population has made such enormous contributions to humanity.
Jews have been part of my life in kindergarten, at Harvard Business School, and throughout my professional career. It was from those experiences that I developed the notion that Jews are the world’s most disproportionate high achievers.
A decade ago I began intensive research to test out the hypothesis. Now, after writing The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement, speaking on the subject, being interviewed on radio and TV, and soliciting criticisms and arguments to disprove the statement, I have come to believe it is simply true.
As a non-Jew, I am fascinated by the fact that a people which constitute 2/10ths of 1 percent of the world’s population and 2 percent of the U.S. population, has made such enormous contributions to the betterment of humanity.
To cite some examples: In hi-tech entrepreneurship, Jewish names include: Intel (Grove and Vadasz), Google (Brin and Page), Oracle (Ellison), Microsoft (Balmer), Dell (Dell), Qualcom (Jacobs), Facebook (Zuckerberg and Sandberg).
In finance, the names are legion: Goldman Sachs, Rothschild, Warburg, Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts, Wells Fargo, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, and many more.
As World Chess champions, Jews have held the title 54% of the time since 1866.
In the 113th United States Congress (2013-2015), Jews were elected to 11 percent of U.S. Senate seats.
Jews account for three of the nine Supreme Court Justices.
More examples:
Distinction |
Expected |
Actual |
Multiple |
% of all |
Nobel Prizes |
1.8 |
181 |
101 |
23% |
History’s Great Inventors (Encyclopedia Britannica) |
.6 |
13.7 |
22 |
5% |
Ivy League Students |
2,380 |
24,000 |
10 |
21% |
Ivy League Presidents |
.2 |
4 |
20 |
50% |
Pulitzer Prize Non-fiction |
1 |
25.5 |
25 |
51% |
Symphony Conductors |
4.2 |
66 |
16 |
33% |
Academy Award Directors |
1.7 |
31 |
18 |
37% |
Forbes 400 (2007) |
8.3 |
126 |
15 |
31% |
Business Week - Philanthropic 50 |
1 |
19 |
19 |
38% |
Kennedy Center Honors |
3.2 |
41 |
13 |
26% |
My second book, The Debate over Jewish Achievement, traces major theories to explain this phenomenon. It uses the technique of a Chronology to expose the strengths and flaws of each one over time. In the end the debate over the factors behind the performance boil down to nature (genetics) and nurture (culture).
My research concludes that, yes, genetic heritage and linkages between most of the world’s Jews (the Mizrahim, Sephardim and Ashkenazim) date back thousands of years. But Judaism is not a "race," given that anyone can freely convert, and today you will find Chinese Jews, Ethiopian Jews, etc.
Rather, culture is the most important driving influence behind Jewish achievement. Among elements of that culture:
There is nothing unique about any of these cultural attributes. In fact, most of them are consistent with the cultures of other high performing groups of people around the globe. Yet the combination and intensity makes for a uniquely Jewish experience, one that has undeniably produced more "good" far beyond expected norms.
It also demonstrates how more of us can achieve and contribute. We need not have Jewish genes to appreciate and learn from the Jews' stunning performance.