Donors Who Gave $25 Million or More
Walter H. Annenberg—a bequest of $1 billion worth of art to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a $375 million bequest and 392-acre estate to the Annenberg Foundation. Mr. Annenberg, a publisher and former U.S. ambassador to Britain who died in October at age 94, left 53 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings collectively valued at $1 billion or more to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. He also left a bequest of between $375 million and $425 million to the Annenberg Foundation, in St. Davids, Pa. In addition to the monetary bequest, the foundation will receive Sunnylands, Mr. Annenberg’s 392-acre estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif., for use as a museum. The foundation, which primarily supports efforts to improve education and communication, had $2.35 billion in its endowment at year end. In 2002, the foundation made grants totaling $383 million, including $100 million each to the schools of communication at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Southern California. Both schools are named after Mr. Annenberg.
Herchel Smith—a $184.7 million bequest to Harvard and Cambridge universities and three other groups. Dr. Smith, who died in 2001 at age 76, left an estimated $90 million to Cambridge University, in England, and $70 million to Harvard University, in Cambridge, Mass. Dr. Smith was a pharmaceuticals researcher who helped develop and owned numerous patents on the first birth-control pills. His gift to Cambridge University is the largest in history made by an individual to a public British university. His bequests to Cambridge and Harvard universities will primarily support endowed professorships in the sciences, as well as an exchange program for graduate fellows between the universities. Dr. Smith’s other gifts include: $9,819,290 to Emmanuel College at Cambridge University for fellowships and graduate-exchange programs in the sciences with Harvard University and the University of London; $9,441,625 to the University of London’s Queen Mary & Westfield College for professorships and general support; $2,250,000 in cash and $1,912,339 in art to Williams College, in Williamstown, Mass.; and $1,274,892 to create a fellowship in gastroenterology at Pennsylvania Hospital, in Philadelphia.
David A. Harrison III—a $122.5 million bequest to the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and Episcopal High School. Mr. Harrison, a retired lawyer, investment banker, and farmer who died in June at age 85, left $114 million to the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville. The bequest provides $64 million for endowed professorships in the schools of law and medicine and a $50 million trust, to be paid over 25 years. Mr. Harrison earned his bachelor’s and law degrees at the university in 1939 and 1941, respectively. In addition, Mr. Harrison left $8.5 million to Episcopal High School, in Alexandria, Va., which he and two of his sons attended.
Eli and Edythe L. Broad— $102.5 million to Broad Foundations and Los Angeles Performing Arts Center. Mr. Broad, 69, chairman of SunAmerica, a financial-services company in Los Angeles, and his wife, Edythe, 66, contributed $101,112,000 to the Broad Foundation, in Los Angeles, which supports efforts to improve public elementary and secondary schools. The gift raised the foundation’s endowment to $400 million. The Broads also gave $915,000 to help construct the Disney Concert Hall, at the Los Angeles Performing Arts Center, and $500,000 to the Broad Art Foundation, which lends its collection of more than 700 works of art to museums around the world.
Robert Edward (Ted) Turner—$91.1 million to U.N. Foundation, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Better World Fund, and others. Mr. Turner, 64, is founder of CNN and Turner Broadcasting System and vice chairman of AOL Time Warner, in New York, a position from which he will resign in May 2003. Last year he gave $60 million to the U.N. Foundation, in Washington, which he founded in 1997 to support the work of the United Nations. To date, Mr. Turner has paid $372,907,342 of his $1 billion pledge to the organization. He also gave $16 million to the Better World Fund, a group in Washington he created to educate people about the work of the United Nations, and $15 million to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, in Washington, which works to reduce the global threat posed by nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction. Mr. Turner created the group in 2001 with a $250 million pledge. He also contributed $130,000 to other groups.
Paul G. Allen— $73.7 million to Allen foundations and other groups. Mr. Allen, 50, co-founder of Microsoft and founder and president of Vulcan Inc., an investment firm in Seattle, financed more than $36 million in grants by his six charitable foundations in 2002: $14,593,450 through the Paul G. Allen Forest Protection Foundation; $12,168,396 through the Paul G. Allen Charitable Foundation; $6,542,118 through the Allen Foundation for the Arts; $1,443,404 through the Allen Foundation for Music; $1,050,000 through the Paul G. Allen Foundation for Medical Research, which supports groups across the country; and $270,000 through the Paul G. Allen Virtual Education Foundation. The foundations, based in Seattle, primarily support nonprofit programs in the Pacific Northwest. In 2002, Mr. Allen also gave $37,636,432 in personal contributions to other groups, including a $14 million gift to the University of Washington at Seattle to help construct a building for the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
Ward Buchanan—a $52.6 million bequest to the University of Virginia Health System. Mr. Buchanan’s $52.6 million bequest to the University of Virginia Health System, in Charlottesville, is the result of estate plans made more than 60 years ago. Mr. Buchanan, who died in 1942, graduated from the university’s law school in 1914 and went on to become an executive with Procter & Gamble. The university received the funds in 2002, following the death of Mr. Buchanan’s last remaining heir. The funds will be used to create an unrestricted endowment for the University Medical Center.
Jack C. Taylor—$47.3 million to five nonprofit groups. Mr. Taylor, 80, founded the Enterprise car-rental service, which he named after the USS Enterprise, the aircraft carrier he served on during World War II as a fighter pilot. He gave $47.3 million to five nonprofit groups in 2002: $15 million to Missouri Botanical Garden, in St. Louis, for plant research worldwide; $12.5 million to Washington University, in St. Louis, to endow scholarships for black or financially needy students; $10 million to the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation, in Pensacola, Fla., to help create the National Flight Academy, which will provide weeklong instruction programs to middle- and high-school students in areas of math and science that are closely related to aviation; $7.8 million to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra for general operating support; and $2 million for renovations and other improvements at Forest Park, in St. Louis.
Peter B. Lewis— $47.2 million to Princeton University and other groups. Mr. Lewis, 69, chairman of Progressive Corp., an insurance company in Mayfield Village, Ohio, gave $15 million to Princeton University, in New Jersey, to help build a science library and support the library’s programs, as part of a $60 million pledge made in 2001. He gave $150,000 to support other programs at the university. In 2002, Mr. Lewis also donated $12 million to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, in New York, to pay existing debts and reduce the principal on an outstanding bond issue. The gift came with the condition that the museum significantly cut its proposed budget. Mr. Lewis also gave $9.9 million to Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, to help construct a building for the university’s business school. In 2002, Mr. Lewis announced that he would withhold future gifts to all Cleveland nonprofit groups in protest over the ballooning cost of the business school’s construction; he has demanded the resignation of the university’s entire board of directors, many of whom serve on the boards of other nonprofit groups in Cleveland. Last year, Mr. Lewis also gave $2 million to augment the endowment of the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation, in New York, as part of a $15 million pledge made in 2000, and $8.1 million to other groups.
Pierre and Pam Omidyar—$46.3 million to Omidyar Foundation and three other groups, plus pledges totaling $2 million to various groups. Mr. Omidyar, 35, founder and chairman of eBay, an online auction and trading site, and his wife, Pam, 35, gave $22 million to the Omidyar Foundation, in Palo Alto, Calif. The gift increased the foundation’s endowment to $70 million. They also provided $3 million for the fund’s operating expenses. The foundation, which was established in 1999, supports programs that strengthen civic awareness and involvement nationwide. Among the groups the foundation supported in 2002: Tufts University, in Medford, Mass., to help develop the University College of Citizenship and Public Service; VolunteerMatch, an online service in San Francisco that links people with volunteer opportunities nationwide; and YouthNOISE, an online service in Washington that promotes youth volunteerism and civic engagement. In 2002, the Omidyars also gave $7.5 million for endowment and operating support to Hope Lab, a private operating foundation in Palo Alto that uses digital technology to develop tools to assist chronically ill children. The couple also added $13.5 million to their donor-advised fund at the Peninsula Community Foundation, in San Mateo, Calif.; gave $250,000 to the Nevada Community Foundation, in Las Vegas, to strengthen its management and operations; and pledged $2 million to various other groups. Mr. Omidyar has said that he will donate the bulk of his wealth, which Forbes magazine placed at $4.4 billion in 2002, within his lifetime.
Arthur M. Blank—$35.3 million to Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Mr. Blank, 60, co-founder of the Home Depot retail chain, gave $35.3 million to nonprofit groups in 2002 through his Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, in Atlanta, which he created in 1995. The foundation, which he finances on a yearly basis, makes grants to support youth development, improve education, preserve green space, sustain the arts, and promote collaboration among its grant recipients. It provides grants in four geographic areas: Georgia; New York City; Maricopa County, Ariz.; and coastal South Carolina.
Lawrence J. Ellison— $35 million to Ellison Medical Foundation. Mr. Ellison, 59, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of the Oracle Corp., a computer-software company in Redwood City, Calif., gave $35 million to the Ellison Medical Foundation, in Bethesda, Md. The foundation, which he created in 1997, supports basic biological and biomedical research on aging and global infectious diseases, especially in developing countries. Mr. Ellison has said that in the next few years he plans to increase his giving to the organization to $100 million annually.
Doris and Jay Christopher—$30.1 million to three universities. Ms. Christopher, 57, the founder and chairman of the Pampered Chef, a kitchen-supplies company in Addison, Ill., that was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2002, and her husband, Jay, 59, chairman of the Thatcher Technology Group, also in Addison, gave $15 million to Valparaiso University, in Valparaiso, Ind., for a new library. Mr. Christopher graduated from Valparaiso in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and serves on the university’s Board of Directors. The couple also gave $10 million to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for a new building to house an undergraduate program that explores ways to strengthen families. Ms. Christopher graduated in 1967 from the university with a bachelor’s degree in home economics, and is a member of the university foundation’s board of directors. In 2002 they also gave $5,050,000 to Concordia University, in River Forest, Ill. The funds will be used to build the Walter and Maxine Christopher Center for Learning and Leadership, which houses the university’s early-childhood-education center and the College of Education. The gift completes a $15 million pledge they made in 1999. The couple also gave $50,000 for the university’s general fund. Mr. Christopher’s father, Walter, was a lawyer for the university. Mr. Christopher is a member of the university foundation’s board of directors.
John A. (Jack) Jackson—$30 million to the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Jackson, 89, a retired oil-and-gas executive who founded the Katie Petroleum Co., in Dallas, gave $30 million to the University of Texas at Austin. Of that total, $20 million will be used to endow a new geosciences school, and $10 million will help renovate and expand a geology building. The gifts complete a $40 million pledge he made in 2001. In addition, Mr. Jackson pledged at least $150 million in cash and stock to the University of Texas at Austin to support endowments for faculty, graduate students, visiting professors, and conferences.
Leon Levy—$29 million to Bard College and other groups. Mr. Levy, 77, a retired general partner at Odyssey Partners, a hedge fund in New York, and retired chairman of Oppenheimer Mutual Funds, in New York, paid $25 million to Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. The unrestricted endowment gift fulfills a $50 million pledge he made in 2001. Mr. Levy also gave $4 million to other nonprofit groups in 2002.
