For the Ages: A History Podcast

A Conversation with Oscar Tang on Business, Art, and Civic Leadership

The New York Historical Season 5 Episode 15

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 31:35

Born in wartime Shanghai and brought to the United States at age eleven with no knowledge of English, financier and philanthropist Oscar Tang reflects on a life shaped by displacement, ambition, and civic responsibility. In conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Tang recounts his journey from a small town in Vermont to Yale and Harvard, before building a successful career on Wall Street. He also discusses the experiences that shaped his philanthropic commitments—from supporting cultural institutions like the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to helping strengthen educational and civic institutions across the United States.

Recorded on February 20, 2026