Ruth Gottesman, the widow of a billionaire businessman, has made a mind-blowing donation to a New York City medical school. Ruth donated a whopping $1 billion to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx on Monday. According to the college, this is the highest donation a medical school has ever received in the country.
The 93-year-old was once a professor at the school. She studied learning disabilities and created an adult literacy program. Ruth is also currently the chair of the board of trustees for the college.
Therefore, she already had a strong connection to the school. According to The New York Times, her husband, David Gottesman, was a protégé of Warren Buffett and an early investor in Berkshire Hathaway Inc.. He also co-founded the investment firm First Manhattan Co., which, according to Forbes, managed over $20 billion in investments when he died in September 2022.
Therefore, he was a billionaire himself. At the time of his death, he was worth $3 billion. “He (David) left me, unbeknownst to me, a whole portfolio of Berkshire Hathaway stock,” Ruth told NYT. He left a simple instruction for her concerning the inheritance.
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“Do whatever you think is right with it,” she said. Therefore, she thought about donating to the school which needed the funding. As a medical school, the money will do many good things for people. The funds will also cover tuition for all students in the future.
According to Yaron Tomer, a Dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the donation will improve many things in the school. “This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it,” Tomer said.
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“Additionally, it will free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive.” According to reports, Ruth’s major condition for donation was that the school could not change its name.
The Bronx is currently the unhealthiest county in New York State. Therefore, investing so much in their medical school will definitely help the community.
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According to the school’s financial aid page, the annual tuition to attend Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s M.D. program is $59,458. Therefore, the lucky students will have less financial worry after this donation. Fourth-year students at the college will also receive a reimbursement of their spring semester tuition.
Usually, people who attend medical school always have a lot of debt stacked up over the years. Most people cannot afford this and sometimes take out student loans that pile up for decades.
Therefore, this huge donation will help the students of Albert Einstein College of Medicine not only now but in the future. They will pay less tuition fees and have fewer debts piling up.
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