September 30, 2004 | Read Time: 1 minute
Guessing which nonprofit institutions are benefiting from the philanthropy of Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York and his family has become an increasingly popular game for some journalists.
This month the Associated Press reported that Mr. Bloomberg’s family was behind a multimillion-dollar gift to Princeton University. The university had planned to keep the gift anonymous, at the request of the donor. However, when reporters started asking questions, it decided to confirm that the gift came from a Bloomberg family member, but would not say whether it was the mayor or one of his relatives.
The gift in question paid for a $36-million dormitory to be named the Emma B. Bloomberg Hall after the mayor’s daughter, a 2001 graduate of the university. The dormitory opened its doors this year to 220 students, and a formal dedication ceremony will take place early next year. The university would not say how much the Bloomberg family member had given or when the gift was made.
In June, rumors circulated that Mr. Bloomberg, who is worth nearly $5-billion according to Forbes magazine, was the unnamed benefactor to the Carnegie Corporation who made a donation of $15-million to support arts and social-services organizations in New York. That gift followed two $10-million anonymous donations to the foundation, in 2002 and 2003, to support urban arts groups — and Mr. Bloomberg was reported to be the source of those gifts (The Chronicle, June 10).
Mr. Bloomberg’s spokesman refused to comment on either of the reported donations, as did the Carnegie Corporation.
