Host Reflections - 2025 Liberating Wealth Gathering

Photo by Marc Sethi

At the beginning of this month, I had the privilege of convening an extraordinary group of people at the inaugural Liberating Wealth Gathering in Amersham. This gathering was more than a conference—it really was intimate enough to have birthed something I feel has the potential to be powerful and potent for the transformative wealth niche. Over the course of two days, we grappled with fundamental questions:

What if wealth wasn't defined by accumulation alone, but by its capacity to regenerate? What if its purpose wasn't to concentrate power, but to distribute it meaningfully?

We gathered in Amersham Market Hall, a space where decisions affecting entire communities were historically made by a select few. There was profound symbolism in meeting there—as an act of reclamation and redefinition. As I understand it, the Wealth Hackers Initiative operates from a foundational principle: wealth should serve life, not dominate it. The work isn't about confrontation, but about creating compelling alternatives to systems that hoard and concentrate mother nature's resources.

Our systems change energy needs to be spent on imagining and building. There is already so much energy spent on destroying & critiquing.

What inspired me most during the gathering was witnessing the emerging pathways for wealth transformation and being in awe at the expertise that was in the room. The intentional un-conference design of the gathering allowed space for those that were in attendance to really engage deeply in the process of gathering, connecting, sharing etc. I learned about the kind of wealth work that moves beyond transformative theory into actionable change, tangible projects and initiatives. People were doing the do, not just talking about doing the do. Watch the animation video of the pictures the incredibly talented Bryan Mathers drew during the gathering in real time. It really was a highlight of my experience to see the conversations we had reflected back in such an artistic and creative way.

Navigating Challenges with Strategic Patience

This transforming wealth work faces real obstacles. Some of us remain resistant to connecting wealth holders with more equitable models, because this wealth/value alignment means dealing with the invisible stuff we don't pay attention to - like power, ego, control. Many wealth holders, even well-intentioned ones, remain disconnected from their wealth's broader impact. These challenges aren't impediments—they're indicators of where focused narrative work is most needed. By meeting people where they are and framing transformation as opportunity rather than sacrifice, we can create openings for change. There is courage needed for this work. The Liberating Wealth gathering clarified 3 ecosystem priorities for me:

• Scaling transformative wealth innovations beyond early adopters and crafting intentional connection spaces for systems change agents working at the nexus of wealth and technology.

• Developing accessible tools for ethical wealth management practices and brave dialogical spaces for deeply exploring what those ethics are.

• Crafting & disseminating wealth narratives that make syntropic systems feel inevitable.

Underpinning all this is the recognition that liberating wealth requires confronting systemic inequities - namely the system of white supremacy. As in my country, South Africa, wealth remains deeply racialised—a pattern we see repeated globally. Shifting this demands courage, kindness, clarity and perseverance. You know the saying "there ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees"? That should give you an idea of the kind of strategic, orchestrated, intentionally interconnected modality with which we should be working, to transform our systems and tackle the polycrisis.

The 2025 Liberating Wealth Gathering showed what becomes possible when vision meets action. This gathering was a testament to what’s possible when people come together not just to dream, but to do. Its easy enough to talk the talk but walking the talk is also required.

And if you cannot walk your talk, stop talking and sit down please.

It's ok to be quiet. It's ok to sit down. Otherwise the noise you make with your incoherence causes more harm than the "impact" you're seeking to create.

Thank you to the Wealth Hackers ops team for having me and thank you to all who attended and listened to me ring my school principal bell :) To those of you reading; this movement needs your perspective. We're not just critiquing what exists—we're actively building what comes next.

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Namaste

Ashanti