Michael Bloomberg's gift to today of $350M to Johns Hopkins Univ brings his total to $!B+

[Stinky The Clown]

He is a Johns Hopkins University alumni. He has given than a lot of money over the years. Today he gave them $350M specifically for student financial aid and some research on global issues. Added to his earlier gifts, his total giving to that one institution now exceeds $1B.

Say what you will about him (*I* surely do), that's a good thing.

[samsingh]

1. kick

[Purveyor]

2. And John Hopkins U has an endowment fund of nearly 6 Billion dollars. Why the hell does any

University need an 'endowment fund' with billions of $$$.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_the_United_States_by_endowment

[BainsBane]

4. lots of reasons

Endowments generate interest that the university uses to hire faculty, fund departments and student scholarships, and fund research.

[bluestate10]

5. Your view is a shortsighted one.

Endowments finance scholarships for needy students and help with university physical plant expenses. All of that is beneficial to society.

[JI7]

6. research

[SidDithers]

9. Endowment funds fund student aid, fellowships, research, athletics, whatever, in perpetuity...

as long as they're properly managed, with good preservation of capital policies.

A gift to an endowment is the best way to support a university.

Sid

[BainsBane]

3. He's funding research into gun violence

I saw his speech at John Hopkins on CSPAN last weekend.

[greenman3610]

7. if I was a billionaire philanthropist, education would certainly be a high priority for me

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. He is an honorable man.Don't always agree with him but I respect him.

He was a major suipporter of Joe Lieberman when he won back his Senate seat as an independent,for exampole. But Bloomberg is sincere about caring for this nation and for the public as a whole even when I find fault with his positions. He is never stingy about supporting good causes but what impresses me more is the amount of time he has devoted to public service even though he is super wealthy. Bloomberg clearly has money to burn but none of us have time to burn - we all start out with roughtly equal life times to spend. Someone with his money doesn't need to take on complex problems like governing New York City, and in his case he has not sought public office to further the interests of his class, something I never would have said about Mitt Romney. Bloomberg falls inside the FDR, Kennedy, and even Nelson Rockerfeller tradition of seeing public service as an honorable way of giving something back to our nation.