February 10, 2014 | Read Time: 1 minute
Amount donated in 2013: $157-million
Beneficiary: Broad Foundations
Background: Mr. Broad is founding chairman of KB Home, a home builder, and of SunAmerica, a financial-services company.
Eli and Edythe Broad, of Los Angeles, ages 80 and 77, respectively, gave $157-million to their Broad Foundations last year. Through their philanthropies, the Broads support civic programs, contemporary-art museums, efforts to improve elementary and secondary education, and medical and scientific research.
In 2013, the foundations awarded $100-million to the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for biomedical research. All told, they foundations have given the institute $700-million since it was created in 2003.
The couple’s philanthropies also gave a $7-million grant to the Los Angeles Opera for general operating support. This is not the Broads’ first grant to the opera. In 2006, they donated $7-million to underwrite a production of Der Ring des Nibelungen and for a related festival.
Other notable grants in 2013 include $5-million to Success Academy Charter Schools to expand the number of schools it runs in New York State and $3-million to Common Sense Media to support Graphite, the group’s free ratings and reviews platform that enables teachers to identify educational apps, curricula, websites, and games.
The Philanthropy 50: Browse the full list of America’s most generous donors in 2013.
Learn more: See these donors’ listing in our database of major gifts, America’s Top Donors.
