May 1, 2026
Billionaire (1) life coach and entrepreneur Tony Robbins has advice for anyone who thinks they have to build wealth before they donate to a good cause. He believes generosity actually builds wealth.
On a recent edition of The Iced Coffee Hour podcast, he said that consistently pledging a percentage of his income for charitable initiatives may have fueled his success.
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"I started tithing about 17% of my income about 15 years ago," Robbins said in an recent appearance on The Iced Coffee Hour podcast (2). "The level of wealth I've generated in that time period is completely insane by my standards."
There's likely no spreadsheet that proves generosity leads directly to higher returns. But his experience raises an interesting question: Could giving money away actually help you build more of it?
Here are three ways that might happen, and what everyday people can take from it.
Giving can rewire how you think about money
One of the biggest barriers to building wealth is scarcity thinking (3) — a mindset that focuses on what seems missing, such as money, time, attention, or emotional support. It can make people feel like there's never enough, which often leads to stress, tunnel vision and poorer decisions.
Giving to a good cause regularly shakes up that mindset. Instead of focusing on what you're losing, you begin to see money as something that flows in and out. That shift can make people more confident in investing, taking calculated risks or pursuing higher-income opportunities.
For Robbins — whose website says his work with Feeding America has helped provide at least 1 billion meals in the U.S. (4) while his broader hunger initiatives have commitments measured in tens of billions of meals — generosity helped him think bigger.
If you're consistently giving away part of what you earn, you may feel more pressure to grow the total pie rather than staying focused solely on protecting it.
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Even small, consistent donations can help break the habit of clinging to every dollar, which can sometimes hold back long-term growth.
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Strengthening relationships and opportunities
People who give regularly, whether to charities, communities or individuals, raise their social capital in ways that, over time, can open doors to new opportunities, partnerships or career growth.
That doesn't mean giving should be transactional. But in practice, generosity often leads to stronger social and professional connections, which can indirectly support financial success.
And besides, giving just feels good: A 2023 study (5) by researchers from Harvard Business School, Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia, found that spending money on others increases happiness among the givers.
"Positive emotions can reinforce positive actions, so you are then more attuned to seek out other similar opportunities across time," said Ashley V. Whillans, Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School.
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"If giving has made you feel good in the past, you are more likely to give again, or seek out these opportunities in the future."
It creates discipline and consistency
Tithing, or setting aside a fixed percentage of income to give, requires consistency. And as any regular contributor to 401(k) accounts will tell you, consistency is an important driver of long-term wealth.
If you're disciplined enough to give regularly, you're more likely to apply that same discipline to saving and investing. Over time, those habits compound. In that sense, giving becomes a system that forces you to manage your income intentionally.
The good news is, you don't need to be a billionaire, or even wealthy, to apply the same principle. If you're interested in giving more but feel financially stretched, start small.
Even setting aside 1% of your income can create the habit without putting dangerous pressure on your budget. From there, you can scale up over time as your income grows. The key, suggested by Robbins, isn't the amount but the consistency.
You can also think beyond traditional donations. Helping family, supporting local causes or volunteering time can create the same mindset shift without a large financial commitment.
Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines.
Fortune (1); X (2); American Psychological Association (3); Tony Robbins (4); Harvard Business School (5)
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Chris Clark is a Kansas City–based freelance journalist covering personal finance, housing and retirement. A former Associated Press editor and reporter, he writes plainspoken stories that help readers make smarter financial decisions.
