December 7, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Eli Broad, who made his fortune in real-estate development and insurance, has spent the past year adding to his art collection and to his reputation as one of America’s most generous philanthropists, according to a profile in Vanity Fair (December).
Mr. Broad, who together with his wife, Edythe, has long been a supporter of arts, education, and medical-research causes, gave millions of dollars in 2006 to several organizations and projects. Among the highlights: Doubling his commitment (to $200-million) to their eponymous institute for biomedical research, in Cambridge, Mass.; pledging $25-million to the University of Southern California for stem-cell research; giving $6-million to bankroll a production at the Los Angeles Opera. In April, the Broad Art Foundation also acquired more than 500 rare works by the German artist Joseph Beuys.
At the beginning of the year, ground was broken on the Broad Contemporary Art Museum at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The project’s $60-million cost is being underwritten by Mr. Broad.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art also announced in February the hire of its new director, Michael Govan, whom Mr. Broad helped recruit.
Mr. Broad has long been involved in the details of his philanthropies and civic endeavors (for example, his chairmanship of the Grand Avenue Committee, a group to revitalize downtown Los Angeles). “Eli’s like the city father that everybody wants to have,” the artist Ed Ruscha tells Vanity Fair, but others say Mr. Broad has gained prominence as a supporter of the city’s cultural life because so few other affluent Los Angeles residents have stepped up to fill the philanthropic void.
“Cities have rich civic lives if the business community gets involved,” says Max Palevsky, a computer-industry pioneer. “But out here the business community is showbiz, and they’re on another planet.”
Mr. Broad’s outspokenness and hands-on approach to his philanthropy has led to controversies and feuds over the years, says the article, mostly notably with fellow billionaire David Geffen and with the architect Frank Gehry; the latter designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, for which Mr. Broad spearheaded a $220-million fund-raising campaign.
Answering critics of Mr. Broad’s methods of exerting control over his philanthropy, Bobby Kotick, a computer-game company head and a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, says Mr. Broad is “a consensus-builder. But when you have an intolerance for mediocrity and incompetence, people will be offended.” Mr. Kotick describes Mr. Broad’s style as a supporter of charities: “He says, ‘All right, I’m in. How about you guys?’ That’s like Carnegie, like Rockefeller. That’s very Rockefeller. That’s leadership.”
