Lawsuits Detail Feud at San Francisco’s Koret Foundation

The widow of Bay Area philanthropist Joe Koret is suing the Koret Foundation, claiming its longtime board president has used the $500-million fund to promote himself and causes at odds with her late husband’s vision, the San Francisco Chronicle writes. Susan Koret claims the foundation’s “core mission” of helping the poor has been set aside by real-estate mogul Tad Taube and a “rubber stamp” board that have instead given millions of dollars to conservative and libertarian causes.

Ms. Koret’s suit seeks millions of dollars in repayment and the ouster of five board members. The foundation filed a countersuit seeking to remove Ms. Koret from her lifetime spot on the eight-member board, alleging “incompetence” and breach of duty. Ms. Koret, who married Mr. Koret four years before his death in 1982, “lacks even a basic understanding of the foundation and its operations,” said Nate Ballard, a spokesman for the philanthropy.