HOME / the slate 60: Analysis of the year's biggest philanthropists.

The 1998 Slate 60
The 60 largest American charitable contributions of 1998.

the slate 60:
entries

Posted Thursday, Jan. 28, 1999, at 12:00 AM ET

Introduction

The 1998 Slate 60
The 60 largest American charitable contributions of 1998.

Anonymous Gifts From Individuals, 1998
$10 million and above.

Honorable Mentions
100 other known gifts of more than $5 million in 1998.

47. GERARD and LILO LEEDS--$21 million to the INSTITUTE FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT (N.Y.), formerly known as the Institute for Community Development, from the founders of the high-tech media company CMP Publications. The gift was made from the sale of CMP stock. The Leedses, who made the donation through their two foundations, created the institute in 1990 to improve the quality of education for children who are at risk of dropping out of school. "Part of my job is to convince people to reorder their priorities," said Gerard Leeds, who, with his wife, retired from active management of CMP in 1988. "There are a lot of worthwhile causes to give money to--the church, the hospitals, the museums. We think education is primary. Education can change the world." The institute, located in a wing of CMP headquarters in Manhasset, N.Y., involves businesses, other charities, schools, parents, and governments. The institute's programs now work with 1,400 middle- and high-school students in six districts, offering daily academic enrichment, counseling, and support to students who have low grades, attendance problems, and poor attitudes.

RSS

48. HERBERT A. ALLEN--$20 million to WILLIAMS COLLEGE (Mass.) to construct a new facility for the teaching and performance of theater and dance. The gift from this 1962 alumnus is the largest in the college's history. Allen is president and CEO of Allen & Co. Inc., a privately held investment banking firm located in New York City, and a director of the Coca-Cola Co. "Nobody can give back as much as they have taken from Williams," Allen said.

Related in Slate

Related on the Web

48. THE J.E. DAVIS FAMILY--a $20 million challenge pledge to JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY (Fla.) for the Davis College of Business and to convert the current business school building into a student union. The gift must be matched by other donors. The late J.E. Davis was the co-founder of the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain. "While we have a long history of involvement with Jacksonville University, we have been inspired by JU's new leadership team and its renewed spirit," said Flo Davis, a former chair of the university's board of trustees. A. Dano Davis is a member of the board of trustees and CEO of Winn-Dixie.

48. ALEXANDER W. DREYFOOS JR.--a total of $20 million: $15 million to the MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY for the construction of a complex of buildings. The Dreyfoos Building will include the artificial intelligence laboratory, the laboratory for information and decision systems, the department of linguistics and philosophy, and some portion of the department of brain and cognitive sciences. Dreyfoos, president of the Dreyfoos Group/Photo Electronics Corp. of West Palm Beach, Fla., and a 1954 MIT graduate, said in a recent interview: "I needed to borrow money from the institute in order to complete my studies after my father died. I felt very fortunate that financing was available. ... Somebody was generous before me." Also, $5 million to the RAYMOND F. KRAVIS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS in Palm Beach.

48. J.B. FUQUA--$20 million to DUKE UNIVERSITY's Fuqua School of Business (N.C.). This gift, in addition to $17 million in earlier donations, makes Fuqua Duke's second most generous benefactor, behind the school's founder, James B. Duke, who gave $40 million in 1924 to establish the university. Half of this new gift will endow professorships and otherwise enhance the faculty at Fuqua. The balance will support global programs and funding for general discretionary purposes. "I always like to think that some gesture like [this gift] will encourage others to give away some of the money they have," Fuqua said. "I'm always concerned about these people who think they are going to take it with them."

48. BARBARA J. and ROGER W. ROSSIER--$20 million to the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA for the School of Education, which will be renamed in their honor. Both Rossiers are USC alumni who earned Ed.D. degrees at the school. They established a multimillion dollar enterprise, the Orange County-based Rossier Enterprises (best known for owning and operating a licensed private school that specializes in helping children with academic, social, and emotional delays). Los Angeles and Orange County public school districts send students to the Rossier School, which offers K-6 education in Garden Grove and 7-12 education in Fountain Valley.

53-BROAD 53. ELI BROAD--$18 million to the CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY to create a biological sciences center for 10 new research groups. The donation will fund the 100,000 square foot Broad Center for the Biological Sciences, intended as a technological and scientific incubator for Southern California's biotechnology industry. Broad is chairman, president, and CEO of SunAmerica Corp., a financial services holding company.

53. SOL PRICE--$18 million through his foundation, Price Charities, to ROSA PARKS ELEMENTARY, MONROE CLARK MIDDLE, and HOOVER HIGH, all San Diego inner-city schools. Price's gift will be used to create a teaching and learning laboratory at the three campuses. Price, who is from New York and attended San Diego High School, founded Fed Mart stores and the Price Club discount warehouses (now Costco).

53. LAWRENCE and CAROL ZICKLIN--an $18 million pledge to Bernard M. Baruch College of the CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK system from this alumnus and his wife. The gift, made to the college's school of business, takes the form of a stream of payments from a trust, to be followed by a final sum in 10 to 12 years. A 1957 Baruch graduate, Lawrence Zicklin is managing director of Neuberger & Berman, a money management firm.

56. EDWARD H. and JANET HARTE--a total of $17.8 million: $10.8 million to charities and nonprofit agencies in south Texas including $3.5 million to TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-CORPUS CHRISTI, $1 million to CORPUS CHRISTI METRO MINISTRIES, $1.8 million to the FLOUR BLUFF PUBLIC LIBRARY, and $1 million to the CORPUS CHRISTI MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY to fund a new wing. Also, $7 million to charities elsewhere including STILLMAN COLLEGE, a historically black college in Tuscaloosa, Ala.; the NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY in New York City; the AMERICAN FARMLAND TRUST in Washington; the MAINE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION; and the TRUST FOR PUBLIC LANDS. The Hartes originally did not plan to make any of the gifts public, and some have still not been revealed. "We are shy about publicizing donations," Janet Harte said. "But at the same time, we feel very strongly that we should share our good fortune with our community." Initially the couple planned to make the gifts in bequests after their deaths but changed their minds late last year. "It's more fun to watch what your money will do while you're still alive," Ed Harte said with a laugh. "It's not much fun at all after death, I would imagine." He is the former publisher of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and a director of Harte-Hanks Communications.

57. THE SEGERSTROM FAMILY--6 acres of land valued at $16 million for an expanded cultural complex at the ORANGE COUNTY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER in Costa Mesa, Calif., to be called the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. The family, which owns the South Coast Plaza retail complex in Costa Mesa, will hand over the deed to the land once the center raises half the funds necessary to build the concert hall. The donation was announced by Henry T. Segerstrom, managing partner of C. J. Segerstrom and Sons, and his cousin Jeanette. In 1979, the managing partners of the company--Henry, his mother, Ruth, and his cousin Harold--donated 5 acres to the center to build a theater that now bears the family name.

Photograph of Eli Broad by Peter Morgan/Reuters.