Ruth Gottesman Gives $1 Billion to Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Ruth Gottesman (Albert Einstein College of Medicine)

Ruth Gottesman, a 93-year-old doctor and the widow of Wall Street financier David Gottesman, gave a $1 billion donation to Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Gottesman, a graduate of the school herself, said that the endowment is intended to make the medical school tuition free for all of its students.

The donation should have repercussions well beyond Albert Einstein College of Medicine. University tuition in America – for both graduate schools and undergraduate colleges – has been skyrocketing for years now. This is in spite of the fact that private universities like Harvard have endowments worth billions.

America has also seen skyrocketing medical care costs. If medical school were free, sparing future doctors the need to pay off all of those student loans, it could lead to lower fees for patients.

What is really important here is the fact that now that Albert Einstein College of Medicine will offer free tuition it will be the most sought-after medical school in America. This will bring it the best students, thereby raising its standing. This would push other schools to try and come up with the money to offer free tuition too.

“We have terrific medical students, but this will open it up for many other students whose economic status is such that they wouldn’t even think about going to medical school,” Ruth Gottesman told the New York Times about the donation.

“That’s what makes me very happy about this gift,” she added. “I have the opportunity not just to help Phil (Dr. Philip Ozuah who oversees Einstein affiliate Montefiore), but to help Montefiore and Einstein in a transformative way — and I’m just so proud and so humbled — both — that I could do it.”

“This donation radically revolutionizes our ability to continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it,” Yaron Tomer, the Marilyn and Stanley Katz Dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine said. “Additionally, it will free up and lift our students, enabling them to pursue projects and ideas that might otherwise be prohibitive.”

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a private, research-intensive medical school located in the Bronx borough of New York City. Part of Yeshiva University and founded in 1953, the school operates as an independent degree-granting institution while being part of the integrated healthcare Montefiore Health System and affiliated with Jacobi Medical Center.

In addition to being a medical school, Albert Einstein also offers a number of graduate degrees including doctorates in a number of fields.

David Gottesman, who passed away in September 2022, was a prominent philanthropist and businessman. He was the founder of First Manhattan Co. (FMC), an investment firm that achieved notable success and was also an early investor in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Gottesman served as Vice Chairman and Trustee of the American Museum of Natural History, Demonstrating his passion for science and education, and also served as a trustee of Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Ruth Levy Gottesman is an American educator and philanthropist best known for her significant contributions to the field of education and her recent historic donation. She is Professor Emerita at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM), where she also serves as chairman of the board. Gottesman dedicated a significant portion of her career to AECOM, joining in 1968. She specialized in child learning disabilities, a topic often overlooked at the time, and established programs to evaluate and assist children with such difficulties.

Beyond clinical work, she actively trained medical professionals, educators, and parents to identify and support children with learning challenges. Ruth Gottesman recognized the need for adult education, and so she initiated the Adult Literacy Program at CERC in 1992, one of the first programs addressing adult learning difficulties in the region.