• May 23, 2013

America's Top Donors

A directory of top contributors and their beneficiaries

A directory of top contributors and their beneficiaries. This directory shows recent gifts of $1-million or more made by individuals to charitable institutions. New gifts are added regularly.

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Donor Donor State Recipient Recipient State Category Gift Amount
Leonard Lauder
Industry, Manufacturing
New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) New York Arts $1-billion
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) has received a collection of cubist art worth approximately $1-billion from Leonard Lauder, former chairman of the Estee Lauder Companies, the cosmetics firm in New York. The collection comprises 78 works by Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris, and Fernand Leger.
Michael R. Bloomberg
Media and entertainment
New York The Johns Hopkins U. (Baltimore) Maryland Colleges and universities $350-million
The Johns Hopkins U. (Baltimore) has received a pledge of $350-million from Michael R. Bloomberg. Most of the gift, $250-million, to endow 50 professorships for interdisciplinary studies and research. The remainder will be directed to financial aid for undergraduate students. Mr. Bloomberg is the mayor of New York City and founder of Bloomberg LP. He has donated over $1-billion to the university to date.
Muriel Block
Family wealth, Real estate
New York Yeshiva U., Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York) New York Colleges and universities $160-million
Bequest
Yeshiva U., Albert Einstein College of Medicine (New York) has received a bequest of $160-million from Muriel Block for biomedical research. A portion of the gift, $20-million, will endow 10 new chairs. The bequest will establish institutes that will be named after the Blocks for brain research and clinical research and to construct a building to house research and administration. Ms. Block, along with her late husband, Harold, owned commercial real estate in New York. In 2004, she donated a building to Einstein that was sold for $21-million to build a research pavilion. Ms. Block died in 2010.
Irwin M. and Joan K. Jacobs
Telecommunications
California Cornell Tech (New York) New York Colleges and universities $133-million
Cornell Tech (New York) has received $133-million from Irwin M. Jacobs, who co-founded Qualcomm, and his wife, Joan, to establish the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute. Mr. and Ms. Jacobs both graduated from Cornell University in 1954.
Hansjorg Wyss
Health care, Manufacturing
Wyoming Harvard U., Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering (Cambridge, Mass.) Massachusetts Colleges and universities $125-million
Harvard U., Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering (Cambridge, Mass.) has received $125-million from Hansjorg Wyss, chairman of Synthes, an international medical-device company, whose North American headquarters are in West Chester, Pa. Mr. Wyss earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1965. He established the Wyss Institute in 2008 with a $125-million gift.
Charles T. Munger
Investments
California U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor Michigan Colleges and universities $110-million
U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor has received a pledge of $110-million from Charles T. Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, an investment company in Omaha, to build a residence hall for graduate students. A portion of the gift, $10-million, will also support graduate fellowships. Mr. Munger attended the university in the 1940s, but did not graduate. In 2011, he donated $20-million to the university's law school to renovate a housing complex.
David H. Koch
Oil
New York NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (New York) New York Health $100-million
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has received a gift of $100-million from David H. Koch to construct an ambulatory care center at its Upper East Side location in Manhattan. Mr. Koch is executive vice president at Koch Industries, a multinational group of energy, chemicals, investment, and other types of companies in Wichita, Kansas that was founded by his father, Fred C. Koch, as an oil and gas refinery. He is a trustee of the hospital.
Ronald O. Perelman
Finance, Investments
New York Columbia Business School (New York) New York Colleges and universities $100-million
Columbia Business School (New York) has received a pledge of $100-million from Ronald O. Perelman, chairman and chief executive officer of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, in New York, and chairman of Revlon, to construct a new building in the Manhattanville neighborhood of New York. He is a member of the school's Board of Overseers.
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Investments
New York Tsinghua University (China) N/A Colleges and universities $100-million
Tsinghua U. (Beijing, China) has received a $100-million pledge from Stephen A. Schwarzman, a co-founder and the chairman of the Blackstone Group, an investment company, for a scholarship program.
Alfred E. Mann
Health care
California Nevada Community Foundation (Las Vegas) Nevada Community foundations $70-million
Nevada Community Foundation (Las Vegas) has received $70-million from Alfred E. Mann, the founder of numerous health-care companies, including MannKind Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company in Sylmar, Calif., to establish a donor-advised fund.
J. Harold Harrison
Health care
Georgia Medical College of Georgia Foundation (Augusta) Georgia Health $66-million
Bequest
Medical College of Georgia Foundation (Augusta) has received a bequest of $66-million from J. Harold Harrison to establish a fellows fund named after him to endow faculty chairs and student scholarships. Dr. Harrison was a cardiovascular surgeon who retired as chief of surgery at St. Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta. He was also a cattle farmer. Dr. Harrison graduated from the college in 1948 and was a former chairman of the foundation's board. He died in June 2012.
anonymous
N/A Purdue U. College of Agriculture (West Lafayette, Ind.) Indiana Colleges and universities $65-million
Purdue U. College of Agriculture (West Lafayette, Ind.) has received a pledge of $65-million from anonymous donors.
Robert M. and Anne T. Bass
Finance
Texas Duke U. (Durham, N.C.) North Carolina Colleges and universities $50-million
Duke U. (Durham, N.C.) has received $50-million from Robert M. and Anne T. Bass to establish an interdisciplinary academic program. Mr. Bass is president of Keystone, an investment, acquisition, and merger-management company in Fort Worth. Ms. Bass is a Duke trustee and a co-chair of its capital campaign. One of their children graduated from the university in 1997.
Blavatnik Family Foundation (Len Blavatnik)
Chemicals, Media and entertainment, Real estate, Telecommunications
New York Harvard U. (Cambridge, Mass.) Massachusetts Colleges and universities $50-million
Harvard U. (Cambridge, Mass.) has received $50-million from the Blavatnik Family Foundation (Len Blavatnik) for early-stage medical research and to create a fellowship that will enable graduate business students to pursue entrepreneurial projects in the life sciences. Mr. Blavatnik is founder and chairman of Access Industries, an investment company in New York with holdings in media and telecommunications, natural resources and chemicals, and real estate. He earned a master's degree in business administration from Harvard in 1989.
Lyda Hill
Family wealth, Investments
Texas U. of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) Texas Health $50-million
U. of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston), has received a pledge of $50-million from Lyda Hill, businesswoman and a granddaughter of oilman H.L. Hunt, for its Moon Shots Program, a research effort that focuses on eight cancers. Ms. Hill is a member of the center's Board of Visitors.
Abraham Mitchell
Real estate
Alabama U. of South Alabama (Mobile) Alabama Colleges and universities $50-million
U. of South Alabama (Mobile) has received $50-million from Abraham Mitchell to endow an academic scholarship program and support the Mitchell College of Business. The gift will be evenly split between the two efforts. The portion supporting scholarships is a matching challenge gift. Mr. Mitchell co-founded the Mitchell Company, a real-estate firm in Mobile, with his brother, Mayer. To date, the Mitchell family has given $93-million to the university.
David H. Murdock
Food and beverage, Real estate
California David H. Murdock Research Institute (Kannapolis, N.C.) North Carolina Science $50-million
David H. Murdock Research Institute (Kannapolis, N.C.) has received $50-million from David H. Murdock for its endowment. Mr. Murdock is owner and chairman of the Dole Food Company, in Westlake Village, Calif., and Castle & Cooke, a real-estate development company in Los Angeles. To date, Mr. Murdock he has donated over $131-million to the institute.
David M. Rubenstein
Finance
District of Columbia John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington) District of Columbia Arts $50-million
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington) has received $50-million from David M. Rubenstein to design and construct a new building. Mr. Rubenstein is a co-founder and co-chief executive officer of the Carlyle Group, a private-equity firm in Washington.
Zell Family Foundation (Helen Zell)
Hotels, Investments, Media and entertainment, Real estate
Illinois U. of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (Ann Arbor) Michigan Colleges and universities $50-million
U. of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (Ann Arbor) has received $50-million from the Zell Family Foundation (Helen Zell) for its master of fine arts in creative writing program. Ms. Zell graduated from the university in 1964 and gave $10-million to start the program in 2004. Ms. Zell's husband, Sam, is co-founder and chairman of Equity International, an investment firm in Chicago.
Adelson Family Foundation (Sheldon G. and Miriam Adelson)
Hotels
Nevada Birthright Israel Foundation (New York) New York Religious groups $40-million
Birthright Israel Foundation (New York) has received a partial challenge pledge of $40-million from the Adelson Family Foundation (Sheldon G. and Miriam Adelson) to enable young Jews ages 18 to 26 to travel to Israel. Half of the gift is a challenge. Mr. Adelson is the developer of the Venetian, a hotel in Las Vegas, and chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. To date, the couple has donated $180-million to Birthright Israel.
Donald B. Marron
Finance
New York New York U. New York Colleges and universities $40-million
New York U. has received $40-million from Donald B. Marron to establish the Marron Institute on Cities and the Urban Environment. The institute will help cities around the world become more livable, sustainable, and equitable. Mr. Marron is former chairman of the Paine Webber Group, the securities firm that merged with UBS in 2000, and is now chairman of Lightyear Capital, a private-equity firm in New York.
William L. Ridgway
Family wealth, Health care, Investments
Indiana U. of Evansville (Ind.) Indiana Colleges and universities $39-million
Bequest
U. of Evansville (Ind.) has received a bequest of $39-million from William L. Ridgway. The money will be placed into a trust and pay out at least five percent annually to the university. An initial gift of $5-million will be used for faculty support. Dr. Ridgway was an ophthalmologist in San Francisco for 40 years before he retired to his native Evansville and was a lifetime trustee of the university. In total, he donated $52.6-million. He died in March, 2013.
Jimmy Iovine
Entertainment
N/A U. of Southern California (Los Angeles) California Colleges and universities $35-million
U. of Southern California (Los Angeles) has received a pledge of $35-million from Jimmy Iovine, chairman of Universal Music Group's Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records and a music producer, to create the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. The academy will help students become entrepreneurs. Mr. Iovine's daughter graduated from the university in 2012. He has made this gift in conjunction with Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, with whom he founded Beats Headphones.
Andre (Dr. Dre) Young
Entertainment
California U. of Southern California (Los Angeles) California Colleges and universities $35-million
U. of Southern California (Los Angeles) has received a pledge of $35-million from the music producer and rapper Andre (Dr. Dre) Young to create the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. The academy will help students become entrepreneurs. Dr. Dre has made this gift in conjunction with Jimmy Iovine, with whom he founded Beats Headphones.
Erika Glazer
Family wealth, Real estate
California Wilshire Boulevard Temple (Los Angeles) California Religious groups $30-million
Wilshire Boulevard Temple (Los Angeles) has received a pledge of $30-million over 15 years from Erika Glazer for its capital campaign. Ms. Glazer's father, Guilford, is a developer of shopping malls. She attended the synagogue while growing up.
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About These Data

The giving figures listed for each individual are based on donations announced to date by the donors or their beneficiaries. In cases of bequests, most of the figures are estimates because the wills have not been settled.

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