February 10, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
Amount donated in 2012: $57-million
Top beneficiary: New York City Fieldhouse.
Background: Mr. Rechnitz is an heir to the fortune amassed by his grandfather, Robert H. Heilbrunn, an investor who died in 2001.
Mr. Rechnitz, 47, pledged $50-million to the New York City Fieldhouse, a nonprofit he established to finance an indoor sports complex. Of the total committed, $40-million will go toward building costs and $10-million will pay for the center’s maintenance and operation. The focal point of complex will be an indoor cycling track, but it will also house other sports and fitness facilities.
It was originally planned for a site near Brooklyn Bridge Park, but the cost of building such a structure at that location was too high, and Mr. Rechnitz announced in January that he is seeking a new site for the recreation center.
In addition, Mr. Rechnitz gave about $7-million to Powerhouse Environmental Arts Foundation, a nonprofit he established to purchase and turn a coal-fire power-generating station built in 1910 into artists’ studios.
