$1 Billion Gift Should be Celebrated!

Today’s video is a short celebration of generosity and humility. We are so pleased to share this information because it is such a happy, sweet story. Ruth Gottesman, originally a professor in pediatrics and researcher at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, recently donated a billion dollars to the school which will enable free medical education forever. The hope is that the student body will be broadened to include talented people who could not have considered a medical degree due to the cost. Ruth Gottesman and her late husband, David Gottesman, known as Sandy, were early investors in Berkshire Hathaway which is the source of their wealth.

Ruth Gottesman has been associated with the school for decades, after serving on the faculty she became a trustee. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees. Read her remarkable bio here.

This gift means that generations of physicians who graduate from Albert Einstein will not begin their careers burdened with debt. Beyond that, the fact that the gift is made apparently with no strings attached (and no buildings required to be named Gottesman) make the donation quite extraordinary.

Let’s wrap up with a quote from Ruth Gottesman herself.

“I am very thankful to my late husband, Sandy, for leaving these funds in my care, and l feel blessed to be given the great privilege of making this gift to such a worthy cause,” Ruth Gottesman said in a statement.

It is our pleasure to honor such a fine and generous individual.