Jan 26 (Reuters) – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is
giving $350 million of his multibillion-dollar fortune to his
alma mater, Johns Hopkins University, in a gift that will bring
his total lifetime donations to the institution to over $1
billion, the school said on Saturday.
Bloomberg’s giving to the university over the years makes
him its largest-ever philanthropic benefactor, the school said
in a statement.
Of the new gift, $250 million will go toward the
university’s work to tackle global challenges such as the
preservation of water resources, while the other $100 million
will provide financial aid to undergraduate students, according
to the school.
When he was an undergraduate at the Baltimore university,
Bloomberg paid for his tuition by taking loans and working as a
parking lot attendant. His first Johns Hopkins gift was $5 in
1965, a year after he received his bachelor’s degree in
engineering.
“Johns Hopkins University has been an important part of my
life since I first set foot on campus more than five decades
ago,” Bloomberg said in a statement. “Each dollar I have given
has been well-spent improving the institution and, just as
importantly, making its education available to students who
might otherwise not be able to afford it.”
Bloomberg, now 70, went on to found financial news and
information company Bloomberg LP and amassed a fortune
estimated by Forbes magazine at $25 billion.
Bloomberg, who was elected mayor of New York in 2001, has
said he will give away his fortune before he dies and has set up
Bloomberg Philanthropies to distribute gifts. Besides education,
his donations have targeted public health initiatives, the
environment and the arts.
Bloomberg, chairman of the university’s board of trustees
from 1996 to 2002, has given the school a total of $1.118
billion, it said.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; editing by
Philip Barbara)
