February 23, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
AMERICA’S MOST-GENEROUS DONORS
Donors were not as generous last year as the top givers were in 2004, The Chronicle’s annual survey of giving has found. Boone Pickens, the Texas billionaire, made his second appearance on the list, with his gifts of $229.2-million.
BOONE PICKENS, hopes to give most of his fortune away while he is alive.
OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY last year received from Mr. Pickens the biggest gift ever to a college athletics program, but not everyone on campus is happy about it.
A KNACK FOR INVENTING brought Robert E. Fischell great wealth, which he decided to share with the University of Maryland to help create a department of bioengineering.
IRA A. FULTON, who made a career out of building small businesses into hugely profitable enterprises, says he doesn’t give money away, he invests it — especially in education.
HAVING FLED TO THE UNITED STATES from Communist Czechoslovakia, Jan T. and Marica F. Vilcek decided to focus their philanthropy on the achievements of immigrants.
HOW THE CHRONICLE’S SURVEY of last year’s top donors was compiled.
