Eli Broad

Eli Broad (born June 6, 1933) a native of Detroit, Michigan is a Jewish American billionaire who presently resides in Los Angeles, California. His last name is pronounced as rhyming with "road".

Broad is well known for his philanthropy and extensive art collection. A strong advocate of the city, he is actively involved in the on-going projects to revitalize downtown Los Angeles, and is an ardent supporter of efforts to raise the city's cultural profile.

Broad made his initial fortune in real estate at his company Kaufman & Broad (now KB Home). He is also a founder of the financial giant SunAmerica. He was CEO of SunAmerica, now a subsidiary of the American International Group, until the year 2000. With an estimated current net worth of around $5.8 billion, he is ranked by "Forbes" as the 42-richest person in America.

Philanthropy

In 1991, Broad endowed the Eli Broad College of Business at his alma mater Michigan State University, from which he graduated cum laude in 1954.

The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was founded with a $100 million donation to MIT from Broad and his wife, Edythe, in 2003. In 2005, the couple donated another $100 million to Harvard. On 4 September 2008 the Broad's gave another $400 million to the Broad Institute. The donation will be managed by Harvard's investment unit. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/05/education/05gift.html?hp]

Eli and Edythe Broad are the founders of The Broad Foundation, which states as its mission "to dramatically improve K-12 urban public education through better governance, management, labor relations and competition." In May 2007, the Broad Foundation donated $ 10 million dollars to Gertz-Ressler High School, a public charter school in the Los Angeles area.

On April 25th, 2007, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation joined forces with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledging a joint $60 million to create Strong American Schools, a nonprofit project responsible for running Ed in 08, an information and initiative campaign aimed at encouraging 2008 presidential contenders to include education in their campaign policies. [ [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30913FB3F5A0C768EDDAD0894DF404482 Billionaires Start $60 Million Schools Effort] ]

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation gave $56 million to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as part of LACMA's renovation campaign to create the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. Mr. Broad also serves on LACMA's Board of Directors. [Citation | last=Boehm | first=Mike | author-link=Mike Boehm | title=BP gives $25 million to LACMA: The BP donation will go toward a solar entrance that the British oil firm hopes will invoke energy innovation.
newspaper=Los Angeles Times | year=2007 | date=March 6, 2007 | url=http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-lacma6mar06,0,1254648.story?coll=cl-calendar ]

On June 1, 2007 Eli and Edythe Broad pledged $26 million to Michigan State University for construction of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum. [ [http://special.newsroom.msu.edu/museumofart/index.php MSU receives $26 million from Eli and Edythe Broad for new art museum] ]

He is also a member of the California Institute of Technology Board of Trustees and endowed the Broad Center there.

Eli and Edythe Broad contributed to a music and performing arts theatre at Santa Monica College, The Eli and Edythe Broad Stage.

Art Collection

Eli and Edythe Broad's art collection, the Broad Art Foundation, includes nearly 2000 works of Modern and contemporary art. The collection was one of the most sought-after by museums in the U.S., until January 2008, when Broad decided the foundation would retain permanent control of the collection and make loans to museums rather than give any of the art away.Citation | last = Wyatt | first = Edward | author-link = Edward Wyatt | title = An Art Donor Opts to Hold On to His Collection | newspaper = New York Times | year = 2008 | date = January 8, 2008 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/arts/design/08muse.html?scp=1&sq=broad+lacma]

Some of the best-known works are by contemporary artists including:Citation | last = Knight | first = Christopher | author-link = Christopher Knight
title = Will LACMA's reputation suffer from Broad's change of heart?
newspaper = Los Angeles Times | year = 2008 | date = January 10, 2008
url = http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-critic11jan10,1,6451548.story?ctrack=4&cset=true]
* Robert Rauschenberg - 1954 red abstraction.
* Jasper Johns - flag paintings (1960 and 1967), mixed-media "Watchman" (1964), "hatch" (1975)
* John Baldessari's two text paintings from 1967-68,
* Edward Ruscha's first word painting, "Boss" (1961) and his 1964 picture of Norm's La Cienega Boulevard restaurant on fire.
* Roy Lichtenstein - 3 comic strip paintings (1962-65) and his 1969 abstraction of a mirror.
* Andy Warhol's advertising image, "Where's your rupture?," two Marilyn Monroe images, 20 of Jackie Kennedy, an Elvis, a dance diagram, a wanted poster, an electric chair and a Campbell's soup can -- clam chowder, Manhattan style -- all from 1961 to 1967.
* Jeff Koons fluorescent-lighted vacuum cleaners (1981), floating basketballs and bronze lifeboat (both 1985), stainless-steel bunny rabbit (1986) and life-size porcelain portrait of Michael Jackson and his pet chimpanzee (1988).
* Cindy Sherman - twelve photographs from 1977-80 photographs

Trivia

*In November of 1994, Broad purchased Roy Lichtenstein's "I...I'm Sorry" for $2.5 million USD at a Sotheby's auction, paid with his American Express credit card, and thereby earned 2.5 million frequent flyer miles.
*In 2005, Broad purchased David Smith's stainless steel masterpiece from 1965, Cubi XXVIII, from an auction at Sotheby's for a record $23,816,000. He claimed that he had "been looking for a Cubi for more than a decade...I knew it would go way over the estimate and I was prepared, frankly, to pay more than what I bid." [citation | title= ArtInfo Exclusive: Eli Broad Talks about His $24M Purchase of Cubi XXVIII | author= Judd Tully | publisher=ARTINFO | year=2005 | date= November 11, 2005 | url=http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/1551/artinfo-exclusive-eli-broad-talks-about-his-24m-purchase-of-cubi-xxviii/ | accessdate=2008-05-19 ]

References

* [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/54/biz_06rich400_Eli-Broad_599L.html Forbes 400]

ee also

*List of billionaires
*Whitehead Institute

External links

* [http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/10/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2004&passListType=Person&uniqueId=599L&datatype=Person Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People]
* [http://www.broadfoundation.org/ Broad Foundations]
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-9224643.html?refid=hbw_sw1 Profile of Eli Broad from the Los Angeles Business Journal]
* [http://edin08.com/ Strong American Schools/ED in 08]