Billion-Dollar Donation Creates Free Tuition For Albert Einstein College Of Medicine

Dr. Ruth Gottesman, a 93-year-old former professor and chair of the board of trustees of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in The Bronx, provided a $1 billion gift to the university, providing its students with free tuition beginning in August.

As ABC News reported, the gift is one of, if not the largest, single donation to a university in the United States and the single largest donation to a medical school, according to the university. As a condition of Gottesman’s gift, the university will keep its current name.

Dr. Yaron Tomer, the Marilyn and Stanley Katz dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, said in a press release that the gift is a radical transformation for the lives of its students.

“This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it.”

Tomer continued, “Additionally, it will free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive. We will be reminded of the legacy this historic gift represents each spring as we send another diverse class of physicians out across the Bronx and around the world to provide compassionate care and transform their communities.”

Gottesman thanked her husband, the late David “Sandy” Gottesman, who made his fortune by investing early into billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway firm, for entrusting her with the funds necessary to make the landmark donation. 

Gottesman concluded, “Each year, well over 100 students enter Albert Einstein College of Medicine in their quest for degrees in medicine and science. They leave as superbly trained scientists and compassionate and knowledgeable physicians, with the expertise to find new ways to prevent diseases and provide the finest health care to communities here in the Bronx and all over the world.”

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