I'm a member of Giving What We Can, pledging 10% of my post-tax income to the most effective charities I can find. This page tracks the estimated real-world impact of that commitment — openly, with real numbers, explicit methodology, and honest uncertainty.
How $2.9M in career earnings flows through taxes, savings, expenses, and giving to real-world outcomes.
Impact is more than charitable giving. These are harder to quantify but no less real.
I don't eat meat. The average American consumes ~225 lbs of meat per year, responsible for roughly 25-30 land animals killed and significant environmental impact.
~200 animals not killed over career to date ?MethodologyAverage American eats ~225 lbs of meat/yr, equating to ~25-30 land animals killed. Over 7 years: ~175-210 animals. Does not count fish. Note: still consumes eggs, dairy (see Moral Ledger).USDA ERS food availability dataBy choosing investment banking over a median career path, my earning-to-give capacity is roughly 4× what it would otherwise be.
$132K additional giving capacity enabled ?MethodologyCounterfactual: ~$100K/yr in generic corporate role × 7 years = $700K. Actual: $2.9M. Premium: $2.2M. Post-tax premium (~60%): $1.32M. 10% pledge on premium = $132K additional giving capacity.Based on BYU finance grad median outcomesServed a two-year mission (LDS), baptizing 75 people. Regardless of religious views now, this brought meaning, community, and belonging to those individuals.
75 people brought into a community ?Note on quantificationThe wellbeing impact of religious community membership is genuinely positive for many: social support, purpose, belonging. Hard to quantify in standard welfare units. Carson has since left the LDS church but does not discount the value of community for others.Personal experience, 2013-2015Close friendships and community involvement matter. Being a reliable friend, mentor, and community member creates genuine wellbeing that standard impact metrics miss entirely.
Unquantifiable but realAs a dealmaker in LP secondaries, I help institutional investors access liquidity and optimize portfolios. This market-making creates economic surplus beyond my compensation.
~$2B+ in transactions facilitated ?MethodologyStandard economics: market-makers create consumer surplus by reducing search costs and improving price discovery. Exact surplus is hard to measure, but the transactions I've facilitated represent billions in notional value where both parties benefit.Career transaction volume estimateActive forecaster on Manifold Markets. Good calibration on prediction markets improves collective decision-making and information aggregation.
Contributing to collective intelligenceAn honest accounting of both the costs and benefits of this life, including uncomfortable externalities.
Based on GiveWell's 2022-2024 blended cost-effectiveness estimates. Conservative blended estimate: $5,000 per statistical life saved (accounts for imperfect optimization and rising costs). GiveWell's methodology is the gold standard in EA cost-effectiveness analysis.
Sources: GiveWell top charity cost-effectiveness analyses for Malaria Consortium (~$4,000/life), Against Malaria Foundation (~$4,500/life), Helen Keller Intl (~$3,500/life), New Incentives (~$4,500/life).
Based on ACE estimates and THL's 2024 self-analysis. Central estimate: ~6 animals per dollar (discounted from ACE's 11-14 range). These are almost entirely chickens/hens via corporate cage-free campaign work. The range spans nearly an order of magnitude (37K-259K animals) — treat with significant uncertainty.
$12,000 directed toward reducing risks that could affect all future generations. The expected value argument for x-risk reduction is potentially enormous but carries fundamental uncertainty. No specific lives-saved claim is made.
Based on USDA food availability data. Average American consumes ~225 lbs of meat per year, corresponding to roughly 25-30 land animals killed (primarily chickens). Over 7 years of vegetarianism: ~175-210 animals not killed. Does not count fish or aquatic animals. Note: still consumes eggs and dairy products, which have their own animal welfare costs (see moral ledger debits).
Egg consumption (~3/week): commercial egg production involves significant hen suffering even in cage-free systems. Dairy consumption (moderate): involves cow confinement, calf separation, and resource intensity. Electronics: cobalt mining, e-waste, and labor concerns. These are rough estimates with wide uncertainty bands.
Flight emissions: 0.25 kg CO₂ per passenger-mile (ICAO standard). ~42 round trips/year. Car: 0.42 kg/mi (EPA avg). Housing: SF grid is ~85% carbon-free. Standard offsets priced at $15/tonne (Gold Standard). Premium CDR: $100-600/tonne.
Without the investment banking path, estimated ~$100K/year in a generic corporate role. Over 7 years: ~$700K pre-tax vs actual $2.9M. The $2.2M earnings premium translates to ~$132K in additional giving capacity at 10% post-tax rate.
Career earnings, taxes, expenses, and savings figures are sourced directly from personal financial records tracked via the Gale Family Finances application. Career Earnings: $2.9M (pre-tax, including employer taxes & benefits). Taxes: $1.0M. Living Expenses: $0.5M. Savings/Net Worth: $1.3M. Charitable Giving: $84.5K (includes 2026 YTD).
Career trajectory probabilities: P(stays in IB to MD) = 55%, P(exits to buyside/corp dev) = 25%, P(career disruption) = 20%. Comp ranges sourced from industry surveys. Effective tax rate: 38%. Cost-effectiveness drift: +2%/year. Discount rate: 3%/year.
All impact estimates carry significant uncertainty. Global health figures use GiveWell's well-validated models. Animal welfare figures use ACE estimates with much wider confidence intervals. Existential risk impact is fundamentally speculative. Carbon calculations use standard emission factors from the EPA and ICAO. Product externalities are rough approximations.
Last updated: February 2026. Commitment to annual refresh.