Navigate to News section

One-Fifth of Top Donors Are Jews

Includes Bloomberg and Soros; does not include Adelson

by
Marc Tracy
February 08, 2010
George Soros (#7) in Hong Kong last week.(Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images)
George Soros (#7) in Hong Kong last week.(Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images)

Roughly 20 percent of Slate’s list of the top 60 donors in 2009 are Jews (including the top giver, Pittsburgh financiers Stanley F. and Fiona B. Druckenmiller). Folks you may have heard of include Michael Bloomberg (4); George Soros (6); Eli and Edythe Broad (7); and David Rubinstein (52). The Fundermentalist, JTA’s philanthropy blog, notes that several names are ostentatiously absent, including Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Sheldon Adelson.

Jewish-themed recipients of some of the top donors’ largesse included National Jewish Health, the Jewish Community Foundation of San Diego, and the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation. Maybe, like the rest of the country, Jews should start moving en masse to the Sun Belt?

Also, the New York Times reports today on how the Broads stand astride the Los Angeles arts scene like a colossus. Which recalls that line from Annie Hall, that the difference between L.A. and yogurt is that yogurt has active culture. But still, good for them! May their write-offs be happy ones.

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.