Speaking at the 2017 Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy in Manhattan on Tuesday, Damon pitched access to clean water and sanitation as the lynchpin to achieving all of United Nations’ sustainable development goals. “If we solve this problem, think of what it means across the board -- for economic development, education, gender equality, global health,” Damon said of his effort to tackle the water crisis. “This is the big bang.”

While New York City has provided its residents access to tap water since 1901 -- when horse drawn carriages still ruled the road -- over 2 billion people today still lack access to a toilet, Damon said.

Back in the U.S., Damon connected with Gary White, a 25-year veteran of development with a focus on water, and created Water.org, a nonprofit specializing in water and sanitation projects. While the scope of the problem is enormous -- Damon says a conservative estimate put the cost of solving the crisis at a trillion dollars -- White discovered in his research that the problem is a market failure that he believed could be fixed with business practices.

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