Elaine and Kenneth Langone Make Historic $200 Million Gift to NYU Medical Center
NYU Medical Center recently announced it will be renamed the NYU Elaine A. and Kenneth G. Langone Medical Center, in honor of the chairman of its board of trustees and his wife, whose unrestricted $200 million gift is the largest in the center’s history.
“What makes the Langone gift so remarkable is not just the amount, but the spirit in which it is given,” said Robert I. Grossman, dean and CEO of the medical center. “Rather than being tied to a particular program, this distinctive contribution is being given in a very open-ended way to enable us to realize our dreams of innovation and excellence.”
A leading philanthropist and a major figure in business and finance, Kenneth Langone is best known as co-founder of the world’s largest home improvement retailer, Home Depot, a director of the New York Stock Exchange, and founder of the brokerage and investment banking firm Invemed. He has been a trustee of NYU since 1997 and chairman of the medical center’s Board of Trustees since 1999.
“Elaine and I are designating the new NYU Langone Medical Center as our legacy to the city of New York because we believe in the quality and humanity of this medical center, one truly dedicated to relieving pain and suffering and giving people hope,” Langone said. “This institution has a fantastic track record for the quality of its care and for having some of the greatest doctors in the world. But today there is a disconnect between much of the physical plant and the caliber of the work it houses. That’s why Elaine and I are choosing to make an unrestricted gift of this scale to help launch the vigorous aspirations of our inspired new leadership team.”
The Langone gift will support the center’s plans for a major campus transformation, as envisioned by Grossman and his leadership team. This will include a series of initiatives to expand NYU’s clinical, educational, and biomedical sciences presence on Manhattan’s East Side. The multi-year undertaking incorporates long-term growth and revitalization strategies for a new hospital and all major components embraced by the new NYU Langone Medical Center—NYU School of Medicine, Tisch Hospital, Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, NYU Cancer Institute, NYU Child Study Center, Smilow Research Center, Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, and Hassenfeld Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders—as well as campus-wide infrastructure and all off-site facilities.
In addition to his involvement with the medical center, Kenneth Langone is also vice chairman of the Board of Overseers of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, where the evening program in which he earned his M.B.A. is now named in his honor. In 2004, NYU presented him with its highest honor, The Albert Gallatin Medal. He also guides some of the nation’s premier medical, cultural, and charitable institutions as a director and a trustee, including the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, and the Robin Hood Foundation.
Mrs. Langone is
extremely active in the nonprofit community. She serves on the boards of the
Boys Club of New York, the Animal Medical Center, and Raymond Kravis Center for
the Performing Arts (West Palm Beach, FL). She formerly served on the boards of
Family Services, Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Foundation, and the Children’s
Advocacy Center of Manhattan.
Langone Gift Attracts Additional $50 Million
The two gifts recently inspired by the Langones include a $45 million donation by philanthropists Fiona Druckenmiller and her husband, Stanley. Mrs. Druckenmiller, a former portfolio manager for the Dreyfuss Corp., has been a trustee since 2006. The Druckenmillers’ gift, like that of the Langones, is almost entirely unrestricted and will also help support the vision articulated by the new leadership team focused on growth and advancement.
Marjorie and Walter Buckley, Jr., of Bethlehem, PA, have been friends and business associates of the Langones for 35 years. The Buckleys were original investors in Home Depot, the company that Mr. Langone cofounded and built; Mrs. Buckley conceived the name of the fledgling business. Their gift of $5 million will go to create a scholarship fund in Mr. Langone’s honor.
